Investigations into the mechanisms and ecological controls of cryptic methane cycling

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dc.contributor.advisorZhang, Lin
dc.contributor.advisorReese, Brandi Kiel
dc.contributor.authorCunningham, Christian
dc.contributor.committeeMemberLabonté, Jessica
dc.creator.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6473-5071en_US
dc.date.accessioned2022-04-20T21:20:22Z
dc.date.available2022-04-20T21:20:22Z
dc.date.issued2021-12
dc.description.abstractMethylotrophs, microorganisms that consume C1 compounds, play important roles within the environment for cycling of nutrients and filling diverse ecological niches. This research aimed to analyze the functionality and diversity of methylotrophs within marine environments with a focus on those specifically able to metabolize methane. Previous work had focused on freshwater isolates or mixed communities. We grew Methyloprofundus sedimenti WF1 under four different initial methane concentrations and sampled them over time for methane and pmoA transcript abundance. This gene encodes for an enzyme involved for the first step of methane oxidation and therefore the transcript abundance is suggested to correlate with methane oxidation activity. Transcript abundance was correlated with methane concentration within each methane treatment. Correlations within but not between treatments suggested that transcript abundance correlates with methane oxidation activity. Additionally, a novel culturing method using fluorescence activated cell sorting was utilized for the cultivation of methylotrophic bacteria from core samples taken from Oso Bay, TX wetlands. Isolates were sequenced for whole genome sequencing and characterized for the metabolic potential and their phylogenetic relationships. Three of the four isolates were identified as potentially new species within Methylophaga and the fourth was identified as Methylobacterium organophilum. One of the isolates within Methylophaga had genes necessary for complete denitrification, which had only previously been observed within Methylophaga nitratireducenticrescens JAM1. The use of the key methanol dehydrogenase gene mxaF was analyzed for its phylogenetic accuracy. The gene formed similar topologies within the genus Methylophaga but lacked congruency when compared across the phylum Proteobacteria. This study expands on the understanding of the correlation of methane oxidation activity and transcript abundance as well as the diversity of capabilities within the group Methylophaga from the marine environment.en_US
dc.description.collegeCollege of Science and Engineeringen_US
dc.description.departmentLife Sciencesen_US
dc.format.extent194 pagesen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1969.6/90495
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/*
dc.subjectFACSen_US
dc.subjectmethaneen_US
dc.subjectMethanotrophen_US
dc.subjectMethylotrophen_US
dc.subjectSingle cell sortingen_US
dc.subjectTranscript abundanceen_US
dc.titleInvestigations into the mechanisms and ecological controls of cryptic methane cyclingen_US
dc.typeTexten_US
dc.type.genreThesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineMarine Biologyen_US
thesis.degree.grantorTexas A & M University--Corpus Christien_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen_US

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