Methylococcaceae are the dominant active aerobic methanotrophs in a Chinese tidal marsh

Although coastal marshes are net carbon sinks, they are net methane sources. Aerobic methanotrophs in coastal marsh soils are important methane consumers, but their activity and populations are poorly characterized. DNA stable-isotope probing followed by sequencing was used to determine how active methanotrophic populations differed in the main habitats of a Chinese coastal marsh. These habitats included mudflat, native plant-dominated, and alien plant-dominated habitats. Methylococcaceae was the most active methanotroph family across four habitats. Abundant methylotroph sequences, including methanotrophs and non-methane-oxidizing methylotrophs (Methylotenera and Methylophaga), constituted 50–70% of the 16S rRNA genes detected in the labeled native plant-dominated and mudflat soils. Methylotrophs were less abundant (~ 20%) in labeled alien plant-dominated soil, suggesting less methane assimilation into the target community or a different extent of carbon cross-feeding. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated a significant correlation between the active bacterial communities and soil properties (salinity, organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH, and available phosphorus). Importantly, these results highlight how changing vegetation or soil features in coastal marshes may change their resident active methanotrophic populations, which will further influence methane cycling.