Skip to main content
SLU publication database (SLUpub)

Research article2022Peer reviewedOpen access

Absence of oxygen effect on microbial structure and methane production during drying and rewetting events

Liu, Tong; Li, Xiaoxiao; Yekta, Sepehr Shakeri; Bjorn, Annika; Mu, Bo-Zhong; Masuda, Laura Shizue Moriga; Schnurer, Anna; Enrich-Prast, Alex

Abstract

Natural environments with frequent drainage experience drying and rewetting events that impose fluctuations in water availability and oxygen exposure. These relatively dramatic cycles profoundly impact microbial activity in the environment and subsequent emissions of methane and carbon dioxide. In this study, we mimicked drying and rewetting events by submitting methanogenic communities from strictly anaerobic environments (anaerobic digestors) with different phylogenetic structures to consecutive desiccation events under aerobic (air) and anaerobic (nitrogen) conditions followed by rewetting. We showed that methane production quickly recovered after each rewetting, and surprisingly, no significant difference was observed between the effects of the aerobic or anaerobic desiccation events. There was a slight change in the microbial community structure and a decrease in methane production rates after consecutive drying and rewetting, which can be attributed to a depletion of the pool of available organic matter or the inhibition of the methanogenic communities. These observations indicate that in comparison to the drying and rewetting events or oxygen exposure, the initial phylogenetic structure and the organic matter quantity and quality exhibited a stronger influence on the methanogenic communities and overall microbial community responses. These results change the current paradigm of the sensitivity of strict anaerobic microorganisms to oxygen exposure.

Published in

Scientific Reports
2022, Volume: 12, article number: 16570
Publisher: NATURE PORTFOLIO

      SLU Authors

    • Sustainable Development Goals

      Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

      UKÄ Subject classification

      Microbiology
      Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources
      Environmental Sciences

      Publication identifier

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20448-5

      Permanent link to this page (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/119343