甲烷作为仅次于二氧化碳的全球第二大温室气体，对全球温室效应产生重要影响。湿地环境中微生物互营产甲烷过程介导着甲烷的生物地球化学循环，由于环境介质和环境条件的复杂性，种群互营关系的核心-电子传递过程一直没有得到清晰的认识。本项目拟以我国典型亚热带湿地土壤为代表原位样品，结合室内模拟实验，以湿地环境中典型Geobacteraceae和Methanogens微生物为代表互营共培养，阐明微生物种群间电子传递模式；分析其直接电子传递的可能性及对产甲烷过程的影响；在分子水平上研究湿地不同粒径土壤颗粒上Geobacteraceae和Methanogens组成与分布；湿地土壤颗粒的结构、功能和导电性及可能的电子传递模式与产甲烷过程的耦联关系；阐明湿地土壤中Geobacteraceae-Methanogens种群间的电子传递及对湿地土壤甲烷释放的影响机制，为湿地甲烷释放过程的控制以及有机碳循环提供理论。

Methane is an important greenhouse gas and terrestrial wetlands, including natural wetlands and rice paddies, contribute about half of the global methane emissions. There was a significant increase in methane that could be attributed to increased release of methane from northern wetlands in 2007 and tropical wetlands in 2008. Syntrophic interactions between microorganisms are essential for microbial methane production, however,these syntrophic interactions are poorly understood and there is insufficient information to predicatively model how electron transfer will influence these interactions and methane production. In present project, we propose to elucidate key syntrophic interactions associated with the production of methane in wetlands.The proposed research will coculture Geobacteraceae and Methanogens to test whether direct cell to cell electron transfer between Geobacteraceae and Methanogens; to analysis members of syntrophic methanogenic cultures optimize cell-to-cell electron transfer by conductive pili or other outer-surface components that promote direct cell-to-cell electron. Some wetlands soils in Fujian Province will be sampled to characterize the mode of electron transfer of Methanogens. The researches will analysis the community composition of Geobacteraceae and Methanogens in wetlands soil aggregates and determine the construction, function conduction of soil aggregates and its effect on methane production. This research is expected to provide new insights into the mechanisms of syntrophy and represents an important first step in developing the capacity to predictively model the contributions and response of methanogenic microbial communities to global carbon cycling and climate change.