Correlation of methane production with physiological traits in Trichodesmium IMS 101 grown with methylphosphonate at different temperatures

The diazotrophic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium has been recognized as a potentially significant contributor to aerobic methane generation via several mechanisms including the utilization of methylphophonate (MPn) as a source of phosphorus. Currently, there is no information about how environmental factors regulate methane production by Trichodesmium. Here, we grew Trichodesmium IMS101 at five temperatures ranging from 16 to 31 degrees C, and found that its methane production rates increased with rising temperatures to peak (1.028 +/- 0.040 nmol CH4 mu mol POC-1 day(-1)) at 27 degrees C, and then declined. Its specific growth rate changed from 0.03 +/- 0.01 d(-1) to 0.34 +/- 0.02 d(-1), with the optimal growth temperature identified between 27 and 31 degrees C. Within the tested temperature range the Q(10) for the methane production rate was 4.6 +/- 0.7, indicating a high sensitivity to thermal changes. In parallel, the methane production rates showed robust positive correlations with the assimilation rates of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, resulting in the methane production quotients (molar ratio of carbon, nitrogen, or phosphorus assimilated to methane produced) of 227-494 for carbon, 40-128 for nitrogen, and 1.8-3.4 for phosphorus within the tested temperature range. Based on the experimental data, we estimated that the methane released from Trichodesmium can offset about 1% of its CO2 mitigation effects.