Matthew Kane
MCB Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:
January 15, 2002
Expires:
December 31, 2007 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:
$997963
Investigator(s):
Joseph Yavitt jby1@cornell.edu (Principal Investigator)
Stephen Zinder (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:
Cornell University - State
373 Pine Tree Road
Ithica, NY 14850 607/255-5014
NSF Program(s):
INSTRUMENTAT & INSTRUMENT DEVP, MICRO OBS & MICRO INTER & PRO
Field Application(s):
Program Reference Code(s):
SMET, BIOT, 9251, 9178, 9169, 9104
Program Element Code(s):
1108, 1089
ABSTRACT
A grant has been awarded to Drs. Joseph B. Yavitt and Stephen H. Zinder at Cornell University to establish a microbial observatory to study the microorganisms that produce methane and decompose organic matter in northern, peat-forming wetland ecosystems. Although northern peatland ecosystems are significant sources of methane, an important greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere, almost nothing is known about the microbes that produce methane (methanogens) in peatlands or about other anaerobes (organisms living without oxygen) that decompose organic matter to compounds used by methanogens. Because northern peatlands are characterized by low nutrient availability and acidic conditions, Drs. Yavitt and Zinder will concentrate on acid-tolerant bacteria. They will study three contrasting sites in central New York State in which their preliminary work suggests a rich diversity of as yet uncultivated methanogens. Molecular biological techniques will be used to further characterize the microbial populations at these sites, and methods will be systematically developed for culturing methanogens and culturing other anaerobes using organic compounds of particular importance in peatlands. Of particular interest will be the highly acidic McLean Bog site with a pH near 3.6.
These studies will increase our understanding of microbial diversity and physiology; moreover, some of the acid-tolerant organisms obtained may have biotechnological uses. The microbiological studies will be integrated with biogeochemical studies on carbon flow to methane at the sites, and on methane flux to the atmosphere. As a result, we will be better able to predict how microbial populations in peatlands function and, in particular, how methane production will respond to changing environmental conditions, which will greatly improve our ability to forecast trends in atmospheric methane concentrations. Results of the project will be conveyed to the public through written documents, an internet web site developed and maintained by students, and visits by students to comparable sites in Canada and Europe.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
(Showing: 1 - 12 of 12).
Br?uer, S. L., J. B. Yavitt, and S. H. Zinder.
"Methanogenesis in McLean Bog, an acidic peat bog in upstate New York: stimulation by H2/CO2 in the presence of rifampicin, or by low concentrations of acetate.,"
Geomicrobiol. J.,
v.21,
2004,
p. 433.
Bräuer, S. L., E. Yashiro, N. Ueno, J. B. Yavitt, and S. H. Zinder..
"Characterization of acid-tolerant H2/CO2-utilizing methanogenic enrichment cultures from an acidic peat bog in New York State,"
FEMS Microbiol Ecol,
v.57,
2006,
p. 206`.
Bräuer, S. L., H. Cadillo-Quiroz, E. Yashiro, J. Yavitt, and S. H. Zinder.
"Isolation of a novel acidiphilic methanogen from an acidic peat bog,"
Nature,
v.422,
2006,
p. 192.
Brauer, S., S. H.. Zinder, J. B. Yavitt, J. E. Thies, and E. R. Angert.
"Characterization of microbial community structure in nrthern peatlands in
Tompkins County, New York (Abstract),"
Wetland linkages; a wtershed approach. Society of Wetland Scientists 23rd
annual conference.,
v.23,
2002,
p. 70.
Brauer-S-L ; Yavitt-J-B ; Zinder-S-H
.
"Factors influencing methanogenesis in an acidic peat bog in central New
York State.
,"
Abstracts-of-the-General-Meeting-of-the-American-Society-for-Microbiology.,
v.103,
2003,
p. N-177.
Cadillo-Quiroz, H., E. Yashiro, J. B. Yavitt, and S. H. Zinder..
"Archaeal community in a minerotrophic fen and terminal restrictrion length polymorphism-directed isolation of a novel hydrogenotrophic methanogen.,"
Applied and Environmental Microbiology,
v.74,
2008,
p. 2059-68.
Cadillo-Quiroz, H., S. Bräuer, E. Yashiro, C. Sun, J. Yavitt, and S. Zinder.
"Vertical profiles of methanogenesis and methanogens in two contrasting acidic peatlands in central New York State, USA,"
Envir. Microbiol,
v.8,
2006,
p. 1428.
Dettling, M.D., J.B. Yavitt, and S.H. Zinder.
"Alternative electron acceptors as a control of methanogenesis in four peatlands, Central New York State,"
Wetlands,
v.26,
2006,
p. 917.
Dettling, MD; Yavitt, JB; Cadillo-Quiroz, H; Sun, C; Zinder, SH.
"Soil-methanogen interactions in two peatlands (bog, fen) in central New York State,"
GEOMICROBIOLOGY JOURNAL,
v.24,
2007,
p. 247
- 259.
Yavitt, J-B.
"Unusual patterns of methanogenesis in a peat soil from New York State.,"
Abstracts-of-the-General-Meeting-of-the-American-Society-for-Microbiology,
v.103,
2003,
p. N-179.
Yavitt, J. B., and M. Seidman-Zager..
"Methanogenic conditions in northern peat soils,"
Geomicrobiology J.,
v.23,
2006,
p. 111.
Zinder-S-H ; Yashiro-E ; Brauer-S-L }; Yavitt-J-B
.
"Microbial populations in an acidic peat bog in central New York State.
,"
Abstracts-of-the-General-Meeting-of-the-American-Society-for-Microbiology,
v.103,
2003,
p. N-178.
(Showing: 1 - 12 of 12).
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
