Methanogenic communities and methane emissions from enrichments of Brazilian Amazonia soils under land-use change

Author(s)

Alves, Kelly Jaqueline ; Pylro, Victor Satler ; Nakayama, Cristina Rossi ; Vital, Vitor Goncalves ; Taketani, Rodrigo Gouvea ; Santos, Danielle Goncalves ; Rodrigues, Jorge L. Mazza ; Tsai, Siu Mui ; Andreote, Fernando Dini

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: MICROBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH; v. 265, p. 9-pg., 2022-09-13.

Abstract

Amazonian forest conversion into agricultural and livestock areas is considered one of the activities that contribute most to the emission of greenhouse gases, including methane. Biogenic methane production is mainly performed by methanogenic Archaea, which underscores the importance of understanding the drivers shaping microbial communities involved in the methane cycling and changes in methane metabolism. Here, we aimed to investigate the composition and structure of bacterial and archaeal communities in tropical soils in response to land-use changes, emphasizing the methanogenic communities. We collected soil samples from primary forest, pasture, and secondary forest of the Amazonian region and used a strategy based on the enrichment of the methanogenic community with three different methanogenic substrates followed by measurements of methane emission, quantification of mcrA gene copies by qPCR, and total 16 S rRNA gene sequencing (metataxonomics). We observed variations in the structure of bacterial and archaeal communities of soils under different uses. The richness of methanogenic communities was higher in pasture than forest soils and this richness remained during the incubation period, and as a consequence, the enrichment induced earlier methane emission in pastures -derived samples. Furthermore, pastures enrichments exhibited methanogenic archaea networks more complex than primary and secondary forests. In conclusion, pastures harbor a richer and more responsive methanogenic community than forest samples, suggesting that conversion of forest areas to pasture may boost methane emission. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/50320-4 - Dimensions US-BIOTA - São Paulo: collaborative research: integrating dimensions of microbial biodiversity across land use change in tropical forests
• Grantee: Tsai Siu Mui
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/18745-0 - Changes in communities of methanogenic archaea communities due to changes in the land use in Amazonia
• Grantee: Kelly Jaqueline Alves
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 16/02219-8 - A meta-omics approach to examine disturbances in soils of the Brazilian Amazonia
• Grantee: Victor Satler Pylro
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral