Methanobactin from Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b inhibits N

Methanotrophs synthesize methanobactin, a secondary metabolite that binds copper with an unprecedentedly high affinity. Such a strategy may provide methanotrophs a “copper monopoly” that can inhibit the activity of copper-containing enzymes of other microbes, e.g., copper-dependent N(2)O reductases. Here, we show that methanobactin from Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b inhibited N(2)O reduction in denitrifiers. When Pseudomonas stutzeri DCP-Ps1 was incubated in cocultures with M. trichosporium OB3b or with purified methanobactin from M. trichosporium OB3b, stoichiometric N(2)O production was observed from NO(3)(−) reduction, whereas no significant N(2)O accumulation was observed in cocultures with a mutant defective in methanobactin production. Copper uptake by P. stutzeri DCP-Ps1 was inhibited by the presence of purified methanobactin, leading to a significant downregulation of nosZ transcription. Similar findings were observed with three other denitrifier strains. These results suggest that in situ stimulation of methanotrophs can inadvertently increase N(2)O emissions, with the potential for increasing net greenhouse gas emissions.