Methane cycling at the plant–microbe interface: molecular mechanisms and mitigation strategies

Goals

• Elucidate the molecular mechanisms of methane formation in plants, with a focus on the role of intracellular redox states.
• Evaluate whether one-carbon microbes can mitigate plant methane emissions and uncover the underlying molecular basis.
• Quantify the environmental implications of applying C1 microbes for methane mitigation and CO₂ uptake.

Leaders

• Heidelberg University – Biogeochemistry group
  Prof. Frank Keppler (PI), Dr. Moritz Schroll (Postdoc), Rebekka Lauer (PhD student), Maurice Maas (PhD student)
• Kyoto University – Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology, Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture
  Prof. Yasuyoshi Sakai, Prof. Dr. Kosuke Shiraishi (PI, Assistant Professor), Prof. Hiroya Yurimoto

Activity & Progress

• Identification of redox-related candidate genes in yeast knockout strains potentially involved in methane formation.
• Assessment of the effect of selected C1 microbes inoculated onto the plant phyllosphere on methane formation in axenic plant cultures using stable isotope approaches.
• Investigation of the impact of light and CO₂ availability on plant methane formation using isotopic-labeled precursors.