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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2008, p. 2894-2901, Vol. 74, No. 9
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00070-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Dynamics of the Methanogenic Archaeal Community during Plant Residue Decomposition in an Anoxic Rice Field Soil

College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China

Received 9 January 2008/ Accepted 3 March 2008

Incorporation of plant residues strongly enhances the methane production and emission from flooded rice fields. Temperature and residue type are important factors that regulate residue decomposition and CH₄ production. However, the response of the methanogenic archaeal community to these factors in rice field soil is not well understood. In the present experiment, the structure of the archaeal community was determined during the decomposition of rice root and straw residues in anoxic rice field soil incubated at three temperatures (15°C, 30°C, and 45°C). More CH₄ was produced in the straw treatment than root treatment. Increasing the temperature from 15°C to 45°C enhanced CH₄ production. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses in combination with cloning and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes showed that Methanosarcinaceae developed early in the incubations, whereas Methanosaetaceae became more abundant in the later stages. Methanosarcinaceae and Methanosaetaceae seemed to be better adapted at 15°C and 30°C, respectively, while the thermophilic Methanobacteriales and rice cluster I methanogens were significantly enhanced at 45°C. Straw residues promoted the growth of Methanosarcinaceae, whereas the root residues favored Methanosaetaceae. In conclusion, our study revealed a highly dynamic structure of the methanogenic archaeal community during plant residue decomposition. The in situ concentration of acetate (and possibly of H₂) seems to be the key factor that regulates the shift of methanogenic community.

Published ahead of print on 14 March 2008.