Reactive oxygen species in aerobic methane formation from vegetation

摘要

The first report of aerobic methane emissions from vegetation by an unknown mechanism suggested that this potential new source may make a significant contribution to global methane emissions. We recently investigated possible mechanisms and reported experiments in which UV-irradiation caused methane emissions from pectin, a major plant cell wall polysaccharide. Our findings also suggest that UV-generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) release methane from pectin. This has implications for all other, UV-independent processes which may generate ROS in or close to the plant cell wall and suggests a need to evaluate additional systems for ROS-generated methane emissions in leaves.