Composition and distribution of methane metabolic microbes in the global marine sediments

The microorganisms that generate and utilize methane are recognized as key parts of the methane cycle, and their metabolic process has significant effects on global climate change. It revealed that low abundance and diversity of methane metabolic microbes in the deep-sea sediments, and the high similarities among different communities among samples in different oceans. In addition, the OSD group recovered as the predominant group in this study has no close relationship with any other known genotypes in the GenBank, therefore, its taxonomic status and function are unknown and deserve further study.