Microbial Communities Involved in the Methane Cycle
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2024) | Viewed by 8975
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The methane cycle is one of the key components of the global carbon cycle and has a direct impact on the biosphere and climate of Earth. Methane is considered to be the second most important “greenhouse gas”. About 70–80% of methane emission to the atmosphere is of modern biogenic origin. The main agents responsible for biological methane production are methanogenic archaea. They are widely distributed in nature where they usually act as a terminal link in the anaerobic degradation of organic matter. They can also be primary producers of organic matter in ecotopes where substrates for methanogenesis are formed by abiotic reactions, e.g., in geothermal conditions. In recent years, our knowledge of the diversity of methanogens has expanded considerably. This leads to the next task for researchers: assessment of the ecological significance of these newly discovered groups of methanogens. Methanotrophic microorganisms oxidize methane to gain energy under oxic and anoxic conditions using a range of electron acceptors. Recent years have also been characterized by the convincing progress of our understanding of the diversity and physiology of these microorganisms. The evaluation of their global role as a methane sink may be the main focus of their future study. The diversity, ecological role, and physiology of numerous syntrophic partners of methanogenic and methanotrophic prokaryotes also deserve special attention since their activity can be the limiting link in the methane cycle stages. All these tasks can be successfully completed thanks to integrated approaches, including NGS-based molecular methods, bioinformatics, cultivation of new prokaryotes, isotope-based process rate estimation, and statistical approaches.
Dr. Alexander Yu Merkel
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- methane cycle
- methanotrophic microorganisms
- methanogenic prokaryotes
- diversity
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.