New and Future Developments in Microbial Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Microbial Biotechnology in Agro-environmental Sustainability

Jay Shankar Singh, DP Singh

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9780444641915
• eBook ISBN:
  9780444642813
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Biotechnology
• Index: Biological Sciences

New and Future Developments in Microbial Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Microbial Biotechnology in Agro-environmental Sustainability describes, in detail, the various roles of microbial resources in the management of crop diseases and how microbes can be used as a source of income for biomass and bioenergy production. In addition, the book covers microbial inoculants as bio-fertilizers to enhance crop productivity, along with degraded land restoration. Users will find the latest information in the field of microbial biotechnology and its further applications in bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, its generation as an alternative source of energy, restoration degraded and marginal lands, the mitigation of global warming gases, and more. - Describes microbial biotechnology and its applications in sustainable agriculture - Provides information on the use of a variety of microbes for crop production - Outlines microbe-based separation techniques for the removal of metal contaminants from soil - Describes the role of microbial agents in the generation of alternative sources of energy - Includes microbial tools and technologies for the restoration of degraded and marginal lands, the mitigation of global warming gases, and the bioremediation of polluted sites

Chapter 1

Activity and Diversity of Aerobic Methanotrophs in Thermal Springs of the Russian Far East

Ekaterina N. Tikhonova; Irina K. Kravchenko Laboratory of Microbial Survival, Federal State Institution, Federal Research Centre Fundamentals of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation

Abstract

Terrestrial hot springs are heterogeneous both biogeochemically and spatially, occur in various environments, and are distributed widely over the world. Microbial species are diverse in hot springs and their ecological functions are not completely known; thus, the role of hydrotherms in global biogeochemical cycling and the preservation of ancient metabolic forms are difficult to precisely interpret. Methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB), or methanotrophs, share the unique ability to use methane, the second most important greenhouse gas, as the sole carbon and energy source. The Russian Far East is one of the most active in the world terrestrial geothermal area, but until now very limited data have been available for CH₄ oxidation in this region and the existence and activity of thermophilic methanotrophs have been questioned. This chapter, firstly to our knowledge, synthesizes the environmental and climatic factors influencing methane consumption regarding activity and diversity of methanotrophic communities in the geothermal springs of Russian Far East, specifically the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kunashir Island. It was shown that all studied samples contained the dissolved methane and methane oxidation was recorded by a radioisotope tracer technique in the major part of the studied hot springs. Molecular analysis revealed that methanotrophic diversity in these springs was rather low and did not exceed 2–3 genera per spring. Among the hottest samples (50–90°C), thermophilic members of the Gammaproteobacteria genus Methylothermus dominated, while some others are dominated by methanotrophs closely related to Methylomonas, Methylobacter, and Methylocystis. These results suggest that diverse methanotroph groups are adapted to hot springs, including the Methylomonas-Methylobacter and Methylocystis group, which has previously only been detected in cooler sites and the diversity of methanotrophs in thermal ecosystems is broader than previously suggested. So, monitoring and process understanding of CH₄ consumption in these ecosystems is required to estimate global greenhouse gases balance and the contribution to global warming. Results from this chapter will provide novel insights into understanding the behavior of thermophilic microbial communities and will broaden our view of the importance of hydrothermal systems in the evolution of life and global chemical cycling.

Keywords:

Methane; Hot springs; Aerobic methanotrophs; Far-east Russian volcanic belts

Outline

• 1.1 Introduction
• 1.2 Terrestrial Thermal Springs of the Russian Far East: Overviev of Thermal Springs
• 1.3 Origin and Geographical Distribution of Terrestrial Russian Far East Thermal Springs
• 1.4 Composition of Hydrothermal Fluids
• 1.5 Microbial Communities of Hydrothermal Springs
• 1.6 Methane Cycling in Hot Springs Methane Formation
• 1.7 Composition of Magmatic Gases
• 1.8 Methanogenic Activity
• 1.9 Activity and Diversity of Methanotrophic Communities in Thermal Springs
  • 1.9.1 Methane Oxidation
• 1.10 Methanotrophs: A Brief Introduction
• 1.11 Classification of Methanotrophs
• 1.12 Thermophilic Methanotrophs
• 1.13 Methanotrophic Communities of Terrestrial Geothermal Springs
• 1.14 Methane Oxidation in Hot Springs of Far-East Russian Volcanic Belt: Kamchatka and Kuril Islands
• 1.15 Intensity of Ch₄ Oxidation Evaluated by Ratio-Tracer Analysis
• 1.16 Quantification of Aerobic Methanotrophs in Thermal Springs: Number of Copies of pmoA, mxaF and 16s rRNA Genes
• 1.17 Evaluation of Active Methanotrophs by Fish Technique
• 1.18 Diversity of Methanotrophs in Thermal Springs Based on PCR-DGGE Analysis of pmoA Genes
• 1.19 Isolation and Characterization of Methane-Oxidation Cultures
• 1.20 Growth of Enrichments
• 1.21 Study of the Phylogenetic Diversity of Enriched Methanotrophic Cultures
• 1.22 Conclusions
• References
• Further Reading

1.1 Introduction

Methane (CH₄) is a potent greenhouse gas, with a present mixing ratio of 1.8 p.p.m.v. and a global warming potential 25 times greater than carbon dioxide (Nisbet et al., 2014). Methane has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime (12 years) compared with carbon dioxide (5–200 years); so, it may be possible to regulate methane atmospheric concentrations through a reduction in emissions (IPCC, 2007). Methane mitigation strategies not only restrict atmospheric CH₄ accumulation and the associated climate impact, but also provide a valuable industrial fuel source and chemical feedstock.

Methane is a strong greenhouse gas and the major biogenic source, which is the end product of the microb...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Activity and Diversity of Aerobic Methanotrophs in Thermal Springs of the Russian Far East
• Chapter 2: Promoting Crop Growth With Symbiotic Microbes in Agro-Ecosystems in Climate Change Era
• Chapter 3: Bacillus: Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment
• Chapter 4: Role of Microbes in Restoration Ecology and Ecosystem Services
• Chapter 5: The Role of Plant-Associated Bacteria in Phytoremediation of Trace Metals in Contaminated Soils
• Chapter 6: Algae as a Sustainable and Renewable Bioresource for Bio-Fuel Production
• Chapter 7: A Green Nano-Synthesis to Explore the Plant Microbe Interactions
• Chapter 8: Microbial Biotechnology: A Promising Implement for Sustainable Agriculture
• Chapter 9: Rhizospheric Microbial Diversity: An Important Component for Abiotic Stress Management in Crop Plants Toward Sustainable Agriculture
• Chapter 10: Phyllosphere Microbiome: Functional Importance in Sustainable Agriculture
• Chapter 11: Fungi as Promising Biofuel Resource
• Chapter 12: Arbuscular Mycorrhizae: Natural Ecological Engineers for Agro-Ecosystem Sustainability
• Chapter 13: Biocontrol Strategies for Effective Management of Phytopathogenic Fungi Associated With Cereals
• Chapter 14: Municipal Solid Waste to Bioenergy: Current Status, Opportunities, and Challenges in Indian Context
• Chapter 15: Microbes as Bio-Resource for Sustainable Production of Biofuels and Other Bioenergy Products
• Chapter 16: Microbes-Assisted Remediation of Metal Polluted Soils
• Chapter 17: The Prospects of Bio-Fertilizer Technology for Productive and Sustainable Agricultural Growth
• Chapter 18: Plant-Microbe Interactions in Ecosystems Functioning and Sustainability
• Chapter 19: Azotobacter—A Natural Resource for Bioremediation of Toxic Pesticides in Soil Ecosystems
• Chapter 20: Significances of Fungi in Bioremediation of Contaminated Soil
• Chapter 21: Microalgae-Assisted Phyco-Remediation and Energy Crisis Solution: Challenges and Opportunity
• Index