Hobart

Seminar abstract

Friday 16 November 2007, 11.30am (Tas time)
CSIRO Auditorium, Hobart

Guy Abell
Austrian Research Centers GmbH - ARC
Department of Bioresources
Seibersdorf, Austria

Ecology of methane oxidising bacteria in alpine soils

Methane oxidising bacteria (MOB) are an important link in the global carbon cycle, representing the single biogenic sink for the greenhouse gas methane. The role of these organisms in Alpine environments is poorly understood, and represents an important consideration given the prevalence of alpine environments across Europe. This project utilises a combination of approaches to examining the ecology of methanotrophs in alpine soils and the effects of grazing and organic fertilisation on microbial methane oxidation. Analysis of the diversity of particulate methane monooxygenase (pmoA) genes in alpine soils was performed using a combination of microarray analysis and pmoA clone library construction. Preliminary results demonstrated a dominance of type II methanotrophs, particularly Methylocystaceae related phylotypes in alpine soils with limited stratification of methanotroph communities with soil layering. This initial data forms the baseline for future study of MOB in this novel environment and will allow us to examine the effects of anthropogenic perturbation on methane oxidation in Alpine meadows.

Guy is a newly appointed OCE postdoctoral fellow at CMAR working on a Wealth from Oceans project aiming to develop molecular probes to measure nutrient cycling.

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Location:
CSIRO = Marine Laboratories Auditorium, Castray Esplanade, Hobart

For further information, or to schedule a seminar, contact:
To schedule a seminar, contact:
Karen Wild-Allen, (Oceanographic seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5010
Thomas Kunz, (Biological seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
(03) 6232 5076
Jillian Enraght-Moony (seminar administrator) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5456
Sandra Zicus, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC (03) 6226 7888
Margaret Hazelwood, Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies (IASOS) University of Tasmania (03) 6226 2971

Last updated 21/12/07