A unique and overlooked microbial process scavenging two greenhouse gases

该项目旨在对一种新型微生物过程进行首次系统研究，在该过程中，导致气候变化的两种强效气体（甲烷和一氧化氮）同时代谢。这一过程被认为在早期和现代地球水生系统中是普遍存在的，这是一个潜在的但被忽视的甲烷和一氧化氮的微生物汇。通过确定负责的生物体及其代谢途径，该项目代表了全面了解它们在影响温室气体排放中的作用的关键一步。这种认识也将使我们能够更可靠地预测全球气候变化，这是21世纪最重大的挑战之一。

This project aims to perform the first-ever systematic investigation of a novel microbial process, in which two potent gases (methane and nitric oxide) responsible for the climate change are metabolized simultaneously. This process is suggested to be universal in early and modern Earth's aquatic systems, which is a potential but overlooked microbial sink for methane and nitric oxide. By identifying the responsible organisms and their metabolic pathway, this project represents a critical step towards a full understanding of their roles in affecting the greenhouse gas emission. This understanding will also enable us to more reliably predict the global climate change, which is one of the most significant challenges in the 21st Century.