Metabolic interactions underpinning high methane fluxes across terrestrial freshwater wetlands

Abstract Current estimates of wetland contributions to the global methane budget carry high uncertainty, particularly in accurately predicting emissions from high methane-emitting wetlands. Microorganisms drive methane cycling, but little is known about their conservation across wetlands. To address...

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Main Authors: Emily K. Bechtold, Jared B. Ellenbogen, Jorge A. Villa, Djennyfer K. de Melo Ferreira, Angela M. Oliverio, Joel E. Kostka, Virginia I. Rich, Ruth K. Varner, Sheel Bansal, Eric J. Ward, Gil Bohrer, Mikayla A. Borton, Kelly C. Wrighton, Michael J. Wilkins
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56133-0
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author Emily K. Bechtold
Jared B. Ellenbogen
Jorge A. Villa
Djennyfer K. de Melo Ferreira
Angela M. Oliverio
Joel E. Kostka
Virginia I. Rich
Ruth K. Varner
Sheel Bansal
Eric J. Ward
Gil Bohrer
Mikayla A. Borton
Kelly C. Wrighton
Michael J. Wilkins
author_facet Emily K. Bechtold
Jared B. Ellenbogen
Jorge A. Villa
Djennyfer K. de Melo Ferreira
Angela M. Oliverio
Joel E. Kostka
Virginia I. Rich
Ruth K. Varner
Sheel Bansal
Eric J. Ward
Gil Bohrer
Mikayla A. Borton
Kelly C. Wrighton
Michael J. Wilkins
author_sort Emily K. Bechtold
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Current estimates of wetland contributions to the global methane budget carry high uncertainty, particularly in accurately predicting emissions from high methane-emitting wetlands. Microorganisms drive methane cycling, but little is known about their conservation across wetlands. To address this, we integrate 16S rRNA amplicon datasets, metagenomes, metatranscriptomes, and annual methane flux data across 9 wetlands, creating the Multi-Omics for Understanding Climate Change (MUCC) v2.0.0 database. This resource is used to link microbiome composition to function and methane emissions, focusing on methane-cycling microbes and the networks driving carbon decomposition. We identify eight methane-cycling genera shared across wetlands and show wetland-specific metabolic interactions in marshes, revealing low connections between methanogens and methanotrophs in high-emitting wetlands. Methanoregula emerged as a hub methanogen across networks and is a strong predictor of methane flux. In these wetlands it also displays the functional potential for methylotrophic methanogenesis, highlighting the importance of this pathway in these ecosystems. Collectively, our findings illuminate trends between microbial decomposition networks and methane flux while providing an extensive publicly available database to advance future wetland research.
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issn 2041-1723
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-80e6f277d8f14d69b9be53ec5c77be322025-01-26T12:41:16ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111510.1038/s41467-025-56133-0Metabolic interactions underpinning high methane fluxes across terrestrial freshwater wetlandsEmily K. Bechtold0Jared B. Ellenbogen1Jorge A. Villa2Djennyfer K. de Melo Ferreira3Angela M. Oliverio4Joel E. Kostka5Virginia I. Rich6Ruth K. Varner7Sheel Bansal8Eric J. Ward9Gil Bohrer10Mikayla A. Borton11Kelly C. Wrighton12Michael J. Wilkins13Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State UniversityDepartment of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State UniversitySchool of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at LafayetteDepartment of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State UniversityDepartment of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State UniversitySchool of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Microbiology, The Ohio State UniversityDepartment of Earth Sciences and Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New HampshireUnited States Geological SurveyUniversity of MarylandDepartment of Civil, Environmental & Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State UniversityDepartment of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State UniversityDepartment of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State UniversityDepartment of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State UniversityAbstract Current estimates of wetland contributions to the global methane budget carry high uncertainty, particularly in accurately predicting emissions from high methane-emitting wetlands. Microorganisms drive methane cycling, but little is known about their conservation across wetlands. To address this, we integrate 16S rRNA amplicon datasets, metagenomes, metatranscriptomes, and annual methane flux data across 9 wetlands, creating the Multi-Omics for Understanding Climate Change (MUCC) v2.0.0 database. This resource is used to link microbiome composition to function and methane emissions, focusing on methane-cycling microbes and the networks driving carbon decomposition. We identify eight methane-cycling genera shared across wetlands and show wetland-specific metabolic interactions in marshes, revealing low connections between methanogens and methanotrophs in high-emitting wetlands. Methanoregula emerged as a hub methanogen across networks and is a strong predictor of methane flux. In these wetlands it also displays the functional potential for methylotrophic methanogenesis, highlighting the importance of this pathway in these ecosystems. Collectively, our findings illuminate trends between microbial decomposition networks and methane flux while providing an extensive publicly available database to advance future wetland research.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56133-0
spellingShingle Emily K. Bechtold
Jared B. Ellenbogen
Jorge A. Villa
Djennyfer K. de Melo Ferreira
Angela M. Oliverio
Joel E. Kostka
Virginia I. Rich
Ruth K. Varner
Sheel Bansal
Eric J. Ward
Gil Bohrer
Mikayla A. Borton
Kelly C. Wrighton
Michael J. Wilkins
Metabolic interactions underpinning high methane fluxes across terrestrial freshwater wetlands
Nature Communications
title Metabolic interactions underpinning high methane fluxes across terrestrial freshwater wetlands
title_full Metabolic interactions underpinning high methane fluxes across terrestrial freshwater wetlands
title_fullStr Metabolic interactions underpinning high methane fluxes across terrestrial freshwater wetlands
title_full_unstemmed Metabolic interactions underpinning high methane fluxes across terrestrial freshwater wetlands
title_short Metabolic interactions underpinning high methane fluxes across terrestrial freshwater wetlands
title_sort metabolic interactions underpinning high methane fluxes across terrestrial freshwater wetlands
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56133-0
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