Predominance ofMethanolobusspp. andMethanoculleusspp. in the Archaeal Communities of Saline Gas Field Formation Fluids

Abstract

The microbial communities in sulfate-rich, saline formation fluids of a natural gas reservoir in Lower Saxony, Germany were investigated to enhance the knowledge about microbial communities in potential carbon dioxide sequestration sites. This investigation of the initial state of the deep subsurface microbiota is necessary to predict their influence on the long-term stability and storage capacity of such sites. While the bacterial 16S rDNA gene library was comprised of sequences affiliating with the Firmicutes, the Alphaproteobacteria, the Gammaproteobacteria and the Thermotogales, the archaeal 16S rDNA libraries were simply dominated by two phylotypes related to the genera Methanolobus and Methanoculleus. The monitoring of the archaeal communities in different formation fluid samples by T-RFLP and Real-Time-PCR indicated that these two methanogenic genera dominated at all, whereas the proportion of the two groups varied. Thus, methylotrophic and autotrophic methanogenesis seems to be of importance in the reservoir fluids, dependent on the provided reduction equivalents and substrates and it also may influence the fate of CO 2 in the subsurface.

Comparison of fluid geochemistry and microbiology of multiple organic-rich reservoirs in the Illinois Basin, USA: Evidence for controls on methanogenesis and microbial transport

“…9). This compares favorably with previous clone library studies of deep subsurface methanogenic environments, which showed multiple methanogenic species in one or two groups (Waldron et al, 2007;Green et al, 2008;Strąpoć et al, 2008a,b;Ehinger et al, 2009). However, these results could be affected by PCR Fig.…”

“…These cell count ranges compare favorably with other planktonic cell counts of methanogen-containing deep subsurface environments, which range from 4.9E3 to 8.0E6 cells/mL (Moser et al, 2005;Shimizu et al, 2006;Mochimaru et al, 2007;Waldron et al, 2007;Ehinger et al, 2009;McIntosh et al, 2010b). There are no clear trends between the abundance of planktonic microbial cells and type of organic matter (e.g.…”

Relevance of Deep-Subsurface Microbiology for Underground Gas Storage and Geothermal Energy Production

“…Despite the extreme conditions encountered in deep habitats (high temperatures and pressures, high salinity), deep aquifers have been shown to harbor a live and active biosphere [84]. Such ecosystems are often dominated by thermotolerant and thermophilic bacteria and archaea with mainly anaerobic metabolisms (e.g., fermenting, methanogenic, sulphate-reducing microorganisms) [1,27,71]. The deep subsurface also harbors populations of spore-forming bacteria, which are able to survive adverse conditions (e.g., heat, drought, substrate limitation) by formation of endospores.…”

Biological monitoring for carbon capture and storage – A review and potential future developments

“…Deep biosphere studies (Ehinger et al, 2009) have also shown microbes are present and thus could be monitored. These species are usually lithoautotrophs (using CO 2 as a C source and inorganic compounds as energy sources) and may indicate a more direct influence on the rate of CO 2 plume migration at depth.…”

“…and Methanocelleus spp. were identified in sulphate-rich saline formation fluids of a natural gas reservoir being assessed for use in CCS (Ehinger et al, 2009). The noted phylotypes could influence CO 2 fate and their presence and effects are more important for modelling than monitoring based on the results of Ehinger et al (2009).…”