The plant-produced one-carbon (C1) compounds, such as methane (CH4) and methanol, are an abundant energy source supporting a vast community of methylotrophic microbes, on the aboveground plant surfaces, and in the internal plant compartments (endophytes). This research focuses on plant-CH4 filtering methanotrophs living inside Scots pine trees. We will use metagenomics to identify CH4 cycling bacterial communities in the aboveground tissues of pine and use metagenomics to analyze the functional characteristics of the communities. The spatio-temporal dynamics of the endophytic relationship between pine and methanotrophs will be traced with fluorescent reporter strains by microscopy. Finally, we will study how these endophytic methane-consuming bacteria will influence the methane emissions of the pine host. The project will bring new significant knowledge on the role and dynamics of methane in plant-microbe interactions in forest ecosystems.

2023

2027