Emergence and behaviors of acid-tolerant Janthinobacterium sp. that evolves N2O from deforested tropical peatland

Using a soilless culture system mimicking tropical acidic peat soils, which contained 3 mg of gellan gum and 0.5 mg NO3−-N per gram of medium, a greenhouse gas, N2O emitting capability of microorganisms in acidic peat soil in the area of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, was investigated. The soil sampling sites included a native swamp forest (NF), a burnt forest covered by ferns and shrubs (BF), three arable lands (A-1, A-2 and A-3) and a reclaimed grassland (GL) next to the arable lands. An acid-tolerant Janthinobacterium sp. strain A1-13 (Oxalobacteriaceae, β-proteobacteria) isolated from A-1 soil was characterized as one of the most prominent N2O-emitting bacteria in this region. Physiological characteristics of the N2O emitter in the soilless culture system, including responses to soil environments, substrate concentration, C-source concentration, pH, and temperature, suggest that the N2O emitting Janthinobacterium sp. strain A1-13 is highly adapted to reclaimed open peatland and primarily responsible for massive N2O emissions from the acidic peat soils. Regulation of N2O emitters in the reclaimed peatland for agricultural use is therefore one of the most important issues in preventing the greenhouse gas emission from acidic peat soil farmlands.