Spatial variations of community structures and methane cycling across a transect of Lei-Gong-Hou mud volcanoes in eastern Taiwan.

ABSTRACT: This study analyzed cored sediments retrieved from sites distributed across a transect of the Lei-Gong-Hou mud volcanoes in eastern Taiwan to uncover the spatial distributions of biogeochemical processes and community assemblages involved in methane cycling. The profiles of methane concentration and carbon isotopic composition revealed various orders of the predominance of specific methane-related metabolisms along depth. At a site proximal to the bubbling pool, the methanogenic zone was sandwiched by the anaerobic methanotrophic zones. For two sites distributed toward the topographic depression, the methanogenic zone overlaid the anaerobic methanotrophic zone. The predominance of anaerobic methanotrophy at specific depth intervals is supported by the enhanced copy numbers of the ANME-2a 1

SUBMITTER: Wang PL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3971192 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature