16S_Diversity, function and activity of syntrophic propionate and butyrate bacteria in the proglacial lake sediment of Qiangyong glacier, the Tibetan Plateau

Proglacial lake is an emergent source of the second most important greenhouse gas methane as the climate continues to warm, and syntrophic bacteria play a crucial role in the sediment organic matter degradation and methane production. However, our understanding of syntrophic bacteria in the proglacial lake sediments is largely unknown. By applying 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing on samples from non-ablation seasons, we analyzed the diversity, function, and activity of syntrophic propionate- and butyrate-oxidizing bacteria (SPOB and SBOB) in the sediments of a typical proglacial lake fed by Qiangyong glacier on the south Tibetan Plateau. We found a diverse array of putative canonical syntrophic bacteria, which exhibited an obvious spatial and temporal heterogeneity and played key roles in the species interaction network.