Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane in Sediments of Lake Constance, an Oligotrophic Freshwater Lake

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) with sulfate as terminal electron acceptor has been reported for various environments, including freshwater habitats, and also, nitrate and nitrite were recently shown to act as electron acceptors for methane oxidation in eutrophic freshwater habitats. Radiotracer experiments with sediment material of Lake Constance, an oligotrophic freshwater lake, were performed to follow (CO2)-C-14 formation from (CH4)-C-14 in sediment incubations in the presence of different electron acceptors, namely, nitrate, nitrite, sulfate, or oxygen. Whereas (CO2)-C-14 formation without and with sulfate addition was negligible, addition of nitrate increased (CO2)-C-14 formation significantly, suggesting that AOM could be coupled to denitrification. Nonetheless, denitrification-dependent AOM rates remained at least 1 order of magnitude lower than rates of aerobic methane oxidation. Using molecular techniques, putative denitrifying methanotrophs belonging to the NC10 phylum were detected on the basis of the pmoA and 16S rRNA gene sequences. These findings show that sulfate-dependent AOM was insignificant in Lake constant sediments. However, AOM can also be coupled to denitrification in this oligotrophic freshwater habitat, providing first indications that this might be a widespread process that plays an important role in mitigating methane emissions.