Abundance and community composition of methanotrophs in a Chinese paddy soil under long-term fertilization practices

Abstract

As the second most important greenhouse gas, methane (CH4) is produced from many sources such as paddy fields. Methane-oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs) consume CH4 in paddy soil and, therefore, reduce CH4 emission to the atmosphere. In order to estimate the contribution of paddy fields as a source of CH4, it is important to monitor the effects of fertilizer applications on the shifts of soil methanotrophs, which are targets in strategies to combat global climate change. In this study, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) based on 16S rRNA and pmoA genes, respectively, were used to analyze the soil methanotrophic abundance and communit..