Cargando…

Bromeliad Catchments as Habitats for Methanogenesis in Tropical Rainforest Canopies

Tropical epiphytic plants within the family Bromeliaceae are unusual in that they possess foliage capable of retaining water and impounded material. This creates an acidic (pH 3.5–6.5) and anaerobic (<1 ppm O(2)) environment suspended in the canopy. Results from a Costa Rican rainforest show that...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Goffredi, Shana K., Jang, Gene E., Woodside, Walter T., Ussler, William
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Research Foundation 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3246357/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22207867
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2011.00256
_version_ 1782219937601814528
author Goffredi, Shana K.
Jang, Gene E.
Woodside, Walter T.
Ussler, William
author_facet Goffredi, Shana K.
Jang, Gene E.
Woodside, Walter T.
Ussler, William
author_sort Goffredi, Shana K.
collection PubMed
description Tropical epiphytic plants within the family Bromeliaceae are unusual in that they possess foliage capable of retaining water and impounded material. This creates an acidic (pH 3.5–6.5) and anaerobic (<1 ppm O(2)) environment suspended in the canopy. Results from a Costa Rican rainforest show that most bromeliads (n = 75/86) greater than ~20 cm in plant height or ~4–5 cm tank depth, showed presence of methanogens within the lower anoxic horizon of the tank. Archaea were dominated by methanogens (77–90% of recovered ribotypes) and community structure, although variable, was generally comprised of a single type, closely related to either hydrogenotrophic Methanoregula or Methanocella, a specific clade of aceticlastic Methanosaeta, or Methanosarcina. Juvenile bromeliads, or those species, such as Guzmania, with shallow tanks, generally did not possess methanogens, as assayed by polymerase chain reaction specific for methanogen 16S rRNA genes, nor did artificial catchments (~100 ml volume), in place 6–12 months prior to sample collection. Methanogens were not detected in soil (n = 20), except in one case, in which the dominant ribotype was different from nearby bromeliads. Recovery of methyl coenzyme M reductase genes supported the occurrence of hydrogenotrophic and aceticlastic methanogens within bromeliad tanks, as well as the trend, via QPCR analysis of mcrA, of increased methanogenic capacity with increased plant height. Methane production rates of up to 300 nmol CH(4) ml tank water(−1) day(−1) were measured in microcosm experiments. These results suggest that bromeliad-associated archaeal communities may play an important role in the cycling of carbon in neotropical forests.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-3246357
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2011
publisher Frontiers Research Foundation
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-32463572011-12-29 Bromeliad Catchments as Habitats for Methanogenesis in Tropical Rainforest Canopies Goffredi, Shana K. Jang, Gene E. Woodside, Walter T. Ussler, William Front Microbiol Microbiology Tropical epiphytic plants within the family Bromeliaceae are unusual in that they possess foliage capable of retaining water and impounded material. This creates an acidic (pH 3.5–6.5) and anaerobic (<1 ppm O(2)) environment suspended in the canopy. Results from a Costa Rican rainforest show that most bromeliads (n = 75/86) greater than ~20 cm in plant height or ~4–5 cm tank depth, showed presence of methanogens within the lower anoxic horizon of the tank. Archaea were dominated by methanogens (77–90% of recovered ribotypes) and community structure, although variable, was generally comprised of a single type, closely related to either hydrogenotrophic Methanoregula or Methanocella, a specific clade of aceticlastic Methanosaeta, or Methanosarcina. Juvenile bromeliads, or those species, such as Guzmania, with shallow tanks, generally did not possess methanogens, as assayed by polymerase chain reaction specific for methanogen 16S rRNA genes, nor did artificial catchments (~100 ml volume), in place 6–12 months prior to sample collection. Methanogens were not detected in soil (n = 20), except in one case, in which the dominant ribotype was different from nearby bromeliads. Recovery of methyl coenzyme M reductase genes supported the occurrence of hydrogenotrophic and aceticlastic methanogens within bromeliad tanks, as well as the trend, via QPCR analysis of mcrA, of increased methanogenic capacity with increased plant height. Methane production rates of up to 300 nmol CH(4) ml tank water(−1) day(−1) were measured in microcosm experiments. These results suggest that bromeliad-associated archaeal communities may play an important role in the cycling of carbon in neotropical forests. Frontiers Research Foundation 2011-12-27 /pmc/articles/PMC3246357/ /pubmed/22207867 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2011.00256 Text en Copyright © 2011 Goffredi, Jang, Woodside and Ussler. http://www.frontiersin.org/licenseagreement This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited.
spellingShingle Microbiology
Goffredi, Shana K.
Jang, Gene E.
Woodside, Walter T.
Ussler, William
Bromeliad Catchments as Habitats for Methanogenesis in Tropical Rainforest Canopies
title Bromeliad Catchments as Habitats for Methanogenesis in Tropical Rainforest Canopies
title_full Bromeliad Catchments as Habitats for Methanogenesis in Tropical Rainforest Canopies
title_fullStr Bromeliad Catchments as Habitats for Methanogenesis in Tropical Rainforest Canopies
title_full_unstemmed Bromeliad Catchments as Habitats for Methanogenesis in Tropical Rainforest Canopies
title_short Bromeliad Catchments as Habitats for Methanogenesis in Tropical Rainforest Canopies
title_sort bromeliad catchments as habitats for methanogenesis in tropical rainforest canopies
topic Microbiology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3246357/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22207867
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2011.00256
work_keys_str_mv AT goffredishanak bromeliadcatchmentsashabitatsformethanogenesisintropicalrainforestcanopies
AT janggenee bromeliadcatchmentsashabitatsformethanogenesisintropicalrainforestcanopies
AT woodsidewaltert bromeliadcatchmentsashabitatsformethanogenesisintropicalrainforestcanopies
AT usslerwilliam bromeliadcatchmentsashabitatsformethanogenesisintropicalrainforestcanopies