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Updated: May 24, 2026

Design and Use of a Full Flow Sampling System (FFS) for the Quantification of Methane Emissions
Published on: June 12, 2016
Emission of methane by Eudrilus eugeniae and other earthworms from Brazil
Peter S Depkat-Jakob1, Sindy Hunger, Kristin Schulz
1Department of Ecological Microbiology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
Abstract:
Earthworms emit denitrification-derived nitrous oxide and fermentation-derived molecular hydrogen. The present study demonstrated that the earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae, obtained in Brazil, emitted methane. Other worms displayed a lesser or no capacity to emit methane. Gene and transcript analyses of mcrA (encoding the alpha subunit of methyl-CoM reductase) in gut contents of E. eugeniae suggested that Methanosarcinaceae, Methanobacteriaceae, and Methanomicrobiaceae might be associated with this emission.
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