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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stuttgart, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #386418
Research Project: Gene Discovery and Crop Design for Current and New Rice Management Practices and Market Opportunities

Location: Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center

Title: Genotype-driven soil microbial profile associated with methane emissions

Author
item Barnaby, Jinyoung
item FERNANDEZ-BACA, CRISTINA - US Department Of State
item McClung, Anna

Submitted to: Mid Atlantic Plant and Molecular Biology Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/16/2021
Publication Date: 8/16/2021
Citation: Barnaby, J.Y., Fernandez-Baca, C.P., McClung, A.M. 2021. Genotype-driven soil microbial profile associated with methane emissions. Mid Atlantic Plant and Molecular Biology Proceedings, August 16, 2021, Virtual. p. 10.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Paddy rice supplies 4% of global methane emissions, and is considered a major agricultural contributor to global warming. Methane emissions from rice can be mitigated through reduced irrigation practices, but this can increase nitrous oxide emissions, another important greenhouse gas, and decrease grain yield. Key to meeting these challenges is to breed low methane emitting rice cultivars. However, evaluating genetic variation in greenhouse gas emissions is challenging as measuring gas flux is time-consuming, and labor intensive. Rice genetics and the plant-associated soil microbiome are huge untapped resources for addressing this problem. Our research has shown that low and high methane emitting genotypes had contrasting soil microbial profiles of methanogens, methane-producing bacteria, and methanotrophs, methane-oxidizing bacteria. Methanogens were low at the early developmental stage, and gradually increased in abundance for the rest of growing season in the low CH4 emitters while they stayed highly abundant throughout the whole growing season in the high CH4 emitters. In contrast, methanotrophs were high at the early stage, then gradually decreased in abundance over the growing season in the low CH4 emitters while they remained low for the whole season in the high CH4 emitters. Our research demonstrated that the profile of particular methanogens and methanotrophs identified in this study varies corresponding to the amounts of methane flux driven by rice cultivars. Our results hold promise to use the soil microbial profile as a potential phenotyping tool to select for rice breeding lines having low methane emissions.