Methylotrophy in the Mire: direct and indirect routes for methane production in thawing permafrost

• Published in: mSystems
• Main Authors: Ellenbogen, J.B., Borton, M.A., McGivern, B.B., Cronin, D.R., Hoyt, D.W., Freire-Zapata, V., McCalley, C.K., Varner, R.K., Crill, P.M., Wehr, R.A., Chanton, J.P., Woodcroft, B.J., Tfaily, M.M., Tyson, G.W., Rich, V.I., Wrighton, K.C.
• Other Authors: Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Microbiology 2023
• Subjects: EMERGE Biology Integration Institute; methanogenesis; methylotrophy; Stordalen Mire; Arctic; Climate change; palsa; permafrost
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/672029; https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00698-23

While wetlands are major sources of biogenic methane (CH4), our understanding of resident microbial metabolism is incomplete, which compromises the prediction of CH4 emissions under ongoing climate change. Here, we employed genome-resolved multi-omics to expand our understanding of methanogenesis in the thawing permafrost peatland of Stordalen Mire in Arctic Sweden. In quadrupling the genomic representation of the site's methanogens and examining their encoded metabolism, we revealed that nearly 20% of the metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) encoded the potential for methylotrophic methanogenesis. Further, 27% of the transcriptionally active methanogens expressed methylotrophic genes; for Methanosarcinales and Methanobacteriales MAGs, these data indicated the use of methylated oxygen compounds (e.g., methanol), while for Methanomassiliicoccales, they primarily implicated methyl sulfides and methylamines. In addition to methanogenic methylotrophy, >1,700 bacterial MAGs across 19 phyla encoded anaerobic methylotrophic potential, with expression across 12 phyla. Metabolomic analyses revealed the presence of diverse methylated compounds in the Mire, including some known methylotrophic substrates. Active methylotrophy was observed across all stages of a permafrost thaw gradient in Stordalen, with the most frozen non-methanogenic palsa found to host bacterial methylotrophy and the partially thawed bog and fully thawed fen seen to house both methanogenic and bacterial methylotrophic activities. Methanogenesis across increasing permafrost thaw is thus revised from the sole dominance of hydrogenotrophic production and the appearance of acetoclastic at full thaw to consider the co-occurrence of methylotrophy throughout. Collectively, these findings indicate that methanogenic and bacterial methylotrophy may be an important and previously underappreciated component of carbon cycling and emissions in these rapidly changing wetland habitats.IMPORTANCEWetlands are the biggest natural source of atmospheric methane (CH4) ...