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

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.

SUBMITTER: Liu T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9532411 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature