A marine microbial consortium apparently mediating anaerobic oxidation of methane

Antje Boetius (), Katrin Ravenschlag, Carsten J. Schubert, Dirk Rickert, Friedrich Widdel, Armin Gieseke, Rudolf Amann, Bo Barker Jørgensen, Ursula Witte and Olaf Pfannkuche
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Antje Boetius: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Katrin Ravenschlag: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Carsten J. Schubert: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Dirk Rickert: GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences
Friedrich Widdel: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Armin Gieseke: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Rudolf Amann: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Bo Barker Jørgensen: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Ursula Witte: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Olaf Pfannkuche: GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences

Nature, 2000, vol. 407, issue 6804, 623-626

Abstract: Abstract A large fraction of globally produced methane is converted to CO2 by anaerobic oxidation in marine sediments1. Strong geochemical evidence for net methane consumption in anoxic sediments is based on methane profiles2, radiotracer experiments3 and stable carbon isotope data4. But the elusive microorganisms mediating this reaction have not yet been isolated, and the pathway of anaerobic oxidation of methane is insufficiently understood. Recent data suggest that certain archaea reverse the process of methanogenesis by interaction with sulphate-reducing bacteria5,6,7. Here we provide microscopic evidence for a structured consortium of archaea and sulphate-reducing bacteria, which we identified by fluorescence in situ hybridization using specific 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes. In this example of a structured archaeal-bacterial symbiosis, the archaea grow in dense aggregates of about 100 cells and are surrounded by sulphate-reducing bacteria. These aggregates were abundant in gas-hydrate-rich sediments with extremely high rates of methane-based sulphate reduction, and apparently mediate anaerobic oxidation of methane.

Date: 2000
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DOI: 10.1038/35036572

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