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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbiological Chemistry and Geomicrobiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1461252

Variations in microbial community compositions and processes imposed under contrast geochemical contexts in Sicilian mud volcanoes, Italy

Provisionally accepted
Jhen-nien Chen Jhen-nien Chen 1Yi-Ping Chiu Yi-Ping Chiu 1Tzu-Hsuan Tu Tzu-Hsuan Tu 2Francesco Italino Francesco Italino 3Pei-Ling Wang Pei-Ling Wang 4,5,6Li-Hung Lin Li-Hung Lin 1,5,6*
  • 1 Department of Geosciences, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 2 Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
  • 3 National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), Roma, Lazio, Italy
  • 4 Institute of Oceanography, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 5 Research Center for Future Earth, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 6 Science and Technology Research Institute for Decarbonization, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Terrestrial mud volcanoes represent surface features of channels for subsurface methane transport and, therefore, constitute an important source of methane emission from natural environments. How microbial processes regulate methane emissions in terrestrial mud volcanoes has yet to be fully addressed. This study demonstrated the geochemical characteristics and microbial communities of four mud volcano and seep sites in two geological settings of Sicily, Italy. At sites within the accretionary wedge that exhibited higher methane and sulfate concentrations, the communities were dominated by members capable of catalyzing methane and sulfate metabolisms and organic degradation. In particular, both anaerobic and aerobic methanotrophs were abundant and their abundance distribution coincided with the geochemical transition. In contrast, the sites near Mount Etna were characterized by high fluid salinity, CO2, and low methane and sulfate concentrations, with communities consisting of halophilic organic degraders and sulfur metabolizers, along with a minor presence of aerobic methanotrophs. Substantial variations in community composition and geochemistry across spatial and vertical redox gradients suggest that physicochemical contexts imposed by the geology, fluid path, and source characteristics play a vital role in shaping community composition and cycling of methane, sulfur and organic carbon in Sicily mud volcanoes.

    Keywords: microbial community, Methane, AOM, halophile, mud volcano, Sicily

    Received: 08 Jul 2024; Accepted: 09 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Chiu, Tu, Italino, Wang and Lin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Li-Hung Lin, Department of Geosciences, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

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