London Calling 2023: Fantastic methanotrophs and where to find them

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 27–30 times higher than that of carbon dioxide on a 100-year timescale. The concentration of atmospheric methane has doubled over the last century, largely due to anthropogenic activities. To address this issue, it is essential to understand the diversity and biogeography of methanotrophs — the microorganisms responsible for mitigating emissions.

Shallow metagenomes from 10,000 samples taken across Denmark were screened for methane monooxygenase genes. To improve the resolution of this nationwide study, it is crucial to uncover the novelty found within complex environmental samples. The discovery of novel methanotrophs relies on the ability to extract full-length sequences and generate high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes. Preliminary results show promise in capturing and incorporating novel contig-based full-length sequences. The low indel rate of the R10.4 Oxford Nanopore chemistry enables comprehensive searches in raw data prior to assembly, dramatically increasing the usefulness of nanopore sequencing in complex samples.