Technical Note: Methionine, a precursor of methane in living plants
When terrestrial plants were identified as producers of the greenhouse gas methane, much discussion and debate ensued not only about their contribution to the global methane budget but also with regard to the validity of the observation itself. Although the phenomenon has now become more accepted fo...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2015-03-01
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| Series: | Biogeosciences |
| Online Access: | http://www.biogeosciences.net/12/1907/2015/bg-12-1907-2015.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818556925408706560 |
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| author | K. Lenhart F. Althoff M. Greule F. Keppler |
| author_facet | K. Lenhart F. Althoff M. Greule F. Keppler |
| author_sort | K. Lenhart |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When terrestrial plants were identified as producers of the greenhouse gas
methane,
much discussion and debate ensued not only about their contribution to the global
methane budget but also with regard to the validity of the observation itself. Although
the phenomenon has now become more accepted for both living and dead plants, the
mechanism of methane formation in living plants remains to be elucidated and its
precursor compounds to be identified. We made use of stable isotope techniques to verify the in
vivo formation of methane, and, in order to identify the carbon precursor, <sup>13</sup>C positionally
labeled organic compounds were employed. Here we show that the amino
acid L-methionine acts as a methane precursor in living plants. Employing <sup>13</sup>C-labeled
methionine clearly identified the sulfur-bound methyl group of methionine as a carbon
precursor of methane released from lavender (<i>Lavandula angustifolia</i>). Furthermore,
when lavender plants were stressed physically, methane release rates and the stable
carbon isotope values of the emitted methane greatly increased.
Our results provide additional support that plants possess a mechanism for methane
production and suggest that methionine might play an important role in the formation of
methane in living plants, particularly under stress conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:53:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dba138c5af5f4e0c8641bdde2226c015 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1726-4170 1726-4189 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:53:30Z |
| publishDate | 2015-03-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biogeosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-dba138c5af5f4e0c8641bdde2226c0152022-12-21T23:26:41ZengCopernicus PublicationsBiogeosciences1726-41701726-41892015-03-011261907191410.5194/bg-12-1907-2015Technical Note: Methionine, a precursor of methane in living plantsK. Lenhart0F. Althoff1M. Greule2F. Keppler3Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, 55128 Mainz, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Chemistry, Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, 55128 Mainz, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Chemistry, Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, 55128 Mainz, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Chemistry, Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, 55128 Mainz, GermanyWhen terrestrial plants were identified as producers of the greenhouse gas methane, much discussion and debate ensued not only about their contribution to the global methane budget but also with regard to the validity of the observation itself. Although the phenomenon has now become more accepted for both living and dead plants, the mechanism of methane formation in living plants remains to be elucidated and its precursor compounds to be identified. We made use of stable isotope techniques to verify the in vivo formation of methane, and, in order to identify the carbon precursor, <sup>13</sup>C positionally labeled organic compounds were employed. Here we show that the amino acid L-methionine acts as a methane precursor in living plants. Employing <sup>13</sup>C-labeled methionine clearly identified the sulfur-bound methyl group of methionine as a carbon precursor of methane released from lavender (<i>Lavandula angustifolia</i>). Furthermore, when lavender plants were stressed physically, methane release rates and the stable carbon isotope values of the emitted methane greatly increased. Our results provide additional support that plants possess a mechanism for methane production and suggest that methionine might play an important role in the formation of methane in living plants, particularly under stress conditions.http://www.biogeosciences.net/12/1907/2015/bg-12-1907-2015.pdf |
| spellingShingle | K. Lenhart F. Althoff M. Greule F. Keppler Technical Note: Methionine, a precursor of methane in living plants Biogeosciences |
| title | Technical Note: Methionine, a precursor of methane in living plants |
| title_full | Technical Note: Methionine, a precursor of methane in living plants |
| title_fullStr | Technical Note: Methionine, a precursor of methane in living plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Technical Note: Methionine, a precursor of methane in living plants |
| title_short | Technical Note: Methionine, a precursor of methane in living plants |
| title_sort | technical note methionine a precursor of methane in living plants |
| url | http://www.biogeosciences.net/12/1907/2015/bg-12-1907-2015.pdf |
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