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. 2019 Oct;21(10):3953-3964.
doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.14745. Epub 2019 Aug 6.

Geological gas-storage shapes deep life

Magali Ranchou-Peyruse  1 , Jean-Christophe Auguet  2 , Camille Mazière  1   2 , Claudia Ximena Restrepo-Ortiz  2 , Marion Guignard  1 , David Dequidt  3 , Pierre Chiquet  4 , Pierre Cézac  5 , Anthony Ranchou-Peyruse  1
Affiliations

Geological gas-storage shapes deep life

Magali Ranchou-Peyruse et al. Environ Microbiol. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Around the world, several dozen deep sedimentary aquifers are being used for storage of natural gas. Ad hoc studies of the microbial ecology of some of them have suggested that sulfate reducing and methanogenic microorganisms play a key role in how these aquifers' communities function. Here, we investigate the influence of gas storage on these two metabolic groups by using high-throughput sequencing and show the importance of sulfate-reducing Desulfotomaculum and a new monophyletic methanogenic group. Aquifer microbial diversity was significantly related to the geological level. The distance to the stored natural gas affects the ratio of sulfate-reducing Firmicutes to deltaproteobacteria. In only one aquifer, the methanogenic archaea dominate the sulfate-reducers. This aquifer was used to store town gas (containing at least 50% H2 ) around 50 years ago. The observed decrease of sulfates in this aquifer could be related to stimulation of subsurface sulfate-reducers. These results suggest that the composition of the microbial communities is impacted by decades old transient gas storage activity. The tremendous stability of these gas-impacted deep subsurface microbial ecosystems suggests that in situ biotic methanation projects in geological reservoirs may be sustainable over time.

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References

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