ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Extreme Microbiology
This article is part of the Research TopicRising Stars in Geomicrobiology: Microbial Life in Subsurface, Seep and Hydrothermal EcosystemsView all 9 articles
Lipid biomarkers reveal dominance of aerobic methanotrophy in a continental serpentinizing system
Provisionally accepted
Cybele R. Collins1*
Mary N. Parenteau2
Linda L Jahnke2
Michael David Yoshio Kubo3
Serena Moseman-Valtierra1
Kyle Young4
Dawn Cardace1- 1College of the Environment and Life Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, United States
- 2NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, United States
- 3Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, United States
- 4Todd Groundwater, Alameda, United States
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Sources and sinks of methane within an advanced serpentinization-influenced system were investigated at the Coast Range Ophiolite Microbial Observatory (CROMO) in Lower Lake, California. Subsurface water-rock reactions at CROMO contribute to unique, high pH groundwaters and substantial methane emissions. We performed lipid analysis on biomass and measured radiocarbon and stable carbon isotopic composition of groundwater to trace the origins and fate of methane. Specific groups of microorganisms involved in methane cycling were identified through analysis of membrane lipid components. Aerobic methanotrophs dominated the samples, with evidence of heterotrophic bacteria but no detection of anaerobic methanotrophy or methanogens. Following these data, microbial activity may be a significant sink but not a major source of methane at this site.
Keywords: biomarker, Groundwater, Lipid, methanotroph, Ophiolite, serpentinization, subsurface
Received: 29 Aug 2025; Accepted: 18 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Collins, Parenteau, Jahnke, Kubo, Moseman-Valtierra, Young and Cardace. 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: Cybele R. Collins
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