Using PLFA Biomarkers and Natural Abundance Stable and Radiocarbon Isotopes to Characterize the Microbial Ecology and Metabolism of Methane Cycling

Methane generated in the subsurface is a major source of atmospheric CH4, but its release is mitigated by CH4-oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs). Therefore, it is important to understand the ecology of methanotroph communities in various environments. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses are a particularly useful method for characterizing these communities for two reasons: (1) Many type I and II methanotrophs produce specific PLFA biomarkers that can be used to estimate their populations, and (2) because CH4 is often very depleted in 13C and sometimes 14C, natural abundance δ13CPLFA and Δ14CPLFA values can be used to trace the flow of CH4- derived carbon through microbial ecosystems. We used these tools to evaluate the role of methanotrophs in carbon flow in three different environments: (1) a soil column overlying a coal bed methane (CBM) seep in southwest CO, and pristine, oligotrophic groundwaters within (2) sedimentary and (3) granitic host rocks in Japan. In the soil column impacted by CBM seepage, concentrations of the biomarker PLFAs for type I (16:1ω8cis) and type II (18:1ω8cis) methanotrophs were as high as 13 and 18 nmoles (g dry soil)-1, respectively. Depth profiles of methanotroph PLFA concentrations varied over different sampling dates indicating dynamic populations. δ13CPLFA values of the CBM soils (-25.1 to - 66.9‰) were substantially more negative than those for the control soil (-14.5 to -32.5‰) indicating that CBM is an important carbon source for the CBM-impacted soil microbial community. Δ14CPLFA values (-351 to -936‰) indicate the importance of 14C-dead CBM as a carbon source to the microbial communities, contributing 32 to 66% of total carbon in PLFA structures isolated from shallow soils and 67 to 97% for those isolated from deeper soils. The biomarker for type II methanotrophs, comprised 3 and 18% of total PLFAs in sedimentary and granitic groundwaters, respectively. The Δ14C values determined for type II methanotroph PLFAs in the sedimentary (- 861‰) and granite (-867‰) waters were very similar to the Δ14C values of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in each water (ca -850‰) suggesting that type II methanotrophs ultimately derive all of their carbon from DIC. In contrast, δ13C values of type II PLFAs in the sedimentary (- 93‰) and granite (-60‰) waters indicate that these organisms use different carbon assimilation schemes in each environment. These studies show the utility of PLFA biomarkers and δ13CPLFA and Δ14CPLFA values to characterize the in situ metabolisms of methanotrophic bacteria and overall CH4 recycling in diverse environments.