Hackstein J H, Stumm C K
Department of Microbiology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Science, Catholic University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Jun 7;91(12):5441-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.12.5441.
We have screened more than 110 representatives of the different taxa of terrestrial arthropods for methane production in order to obtain additional information about the origins of biogenic methane. Methanogenic bacteria occur in the hindguts of nearly all tropical representatives of millipedes (Diplopoda), cockroaches (Blattaria), termites (Isoptera), and scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae), while such methanogens are absent from 66 other arthropod species investigated. Three types of symbiosis were found: in the first type, the arthropod's hindgut is colonized by free methanogenic bacteria; in the second type, methanogens are closely associated with chitinous structures formed by the host's hindgut; the third type is mediated by intestinal anaerobic protists with intracellular methanogens. Such symbiotic associations are likely to be a characteristic property of the particular taxon. Since these taxa represent many families with thousands of species, the world populations of methane-producing arthropods constitute an enormous biomass. We show that arthropod symbionts can contribute substantially to atmospheric methane.
我们已经对110多种不同类群的陆生节肢动物进行了筛选，以获取有关生物源甲烷起源的更多信息。产甲烷细菌存在于几乎所有热带千足虫（倍足纲）、蟑螂（蜚蠊目）、白蚁（等翅目）和金龟子（金龟科）的后肠中，而在所研究的其他66种节肢动物中则不存在这种产甲烷菌。发现了三种共生类型：在第一种类型中，节肢动物的后肠被游离的产甲烷细菌定殖；在第二种类型中，产甲烷菌与宿主后肠形成的几丁质结构紧密相关；第三种类型是由含有细胞内产甲烷菌的肠道厌氧原生生物介导的。这种共生关系可能是特定类群的一个特征属性。由于这些类群代表了许多包含数千个物种的科，因此产甲烷节肢动物的全球种群构成了巨大的生物量。我们表明，节肢动物共生体对大气甲烷有很大贡献。
