Vertical distribution of methanotrophic archaea in an iron-rich groundwater discharge zone.

Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science

Groundwater*/microbiology ; Groundwater*/chemistry ; Methane*/metabolism ; Iron*/metabolism ; Archaea*/metabolism ; Archaea*/genetics ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S*/genetics ; Oxidation-Reduction*; Geologic Sediments/microbiology ; Phylogeny ; Japan ; Anaerobiosis

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to iron reduction (Fe-AOM) is a crucial process for methane removal in terrestrial environments. However, the occurrence of Fe-AOM in natural environments is rare, and the mechanisms behind the direct coupling of methane oxidation and iron reduction remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the environmental factors influencing the distribution of methanotrophic archaea in an iron-rich zone of a freshwater pond in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. High concentration of dissolved ferrous iron supplied by groundwater discharge led to considerable ferrihydrite precipitation. Pore water methane increased with sediment depth, while nitrate and sulfate concentrations were near detection limits throughout the sediment column. The coexistence of ferric iron and methane suggests the ongoing process of Fe-AOM. Tracer-based experiments using 14C showed potential Fe-AOM rates up to 110 pmol mL-1 day-1. Throughout the sediment core, except at the surface, PCR-based molecular ecological analyses of the 16S rRNA gene and functional genes for anaerobic oxidation of methane revealed abundant sequences belonging to the family "Candidatus Methanoperedenaceae". These geochemical and microbiological findings suggest that Fe-AOM plays a key role in biogeochemical cycles of iron and methane, positioning this environment as a modern analogue of early Earth conditions.
(Copyright: © 2025 Yanagawa et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

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OP0UW79H66 (Methane)
E1UOL152H7 (Iron)
0 (RNA, Ribosomal, 16S)

Date Created: 20250224 Date Completed: 20250224 Latest Revision: 20250226

20250226

PMC11849818

10.1371/journal.pone.0319069

39992937