Patterns of Endemism and Habitat Selection in Coalbed Microbial Communities.

ABSTRACT: Microbially produced methane, a versatile, cleaner-burning alternative energy resource to fossil fuels, is sourced from a variety of natural and engineered ecosystems, including marine sediments, anaerobic digesters, shales, and coalbeds. There is a prevailing interest in developing environmental biotechnologies to enhance methane production. Here, we use small-subunit rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomics to better describe the interplay between coalbed methane (CBM) well conditions and microbial communities in the Alberta Basin. Our results show that CBM microbial community structures display patterns of endemism and habitat selection across the Alberta Basin, consistent with observations from other geographical locations. While some phylum-level taxonomic patterns were observed, relativ

SUBMITTER: Lawson CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4616946 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature