Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Sustainability

Bypassing the methane cycle

Nature volume 523, pages 534–535 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

A genetically modified rice with more starch in its grains also provides fewer nutrients for methane-producing soil microbes. This dual benefit might help to meet the urgent need for globally sustainable food production. See Letter p.602

Despite being much less abundant in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, methane has a higher capacity to absorb heat emitted from Earth's surface, and thereby contributes substantially to global warming1. The demonstration2 that reducing emissions of this greenhouse gas can be achieved more easily and more rapidly than for CO2 has spurred an avalanche of studies on possible methane-mitigation strategies. Rice cultivation is the largest single source of methane linked to human activity, and methane emissions from rice paddies are expected to increase with a rising global demand for food. On page 602 of this issue, Su et al.3 describe a 'high-starch, low-methane' rice variety that represents a tremendous opportunity for more-sustainable rice cultivation.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: High-starch rice in the environment.

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. IPCC Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis (eds Stocker, T. F. et al.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013).

  2. Montzka, S. A., Dlugokencky, E. J. & Butler, J. H. Nature 476, 43–50 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Su, J. et al. Nature 523, 602–606 (2015).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hussain, S. et al. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. Int. 22, 3342–3360 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Denier van der Gon, H. A. C. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 99, 12021–12024 (2002).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Edwards, J. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 112, E911–E920 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hernández, M., Dumont, M. G., Yuan, Q. & Conrad, R. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 81, 2244–2253 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Philippot, L., Raaijmakers, J. M., Lemanceau, P. & Van der Putten, W. H. Nature Rev. Microbiol. 11, 789–799 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Bodelier, P. L. E. & Steenbergh, A. K. Curr. Opin. Env. Sustain. 9–10, 26–36 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paul L. E. Bodelier is in the Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands.,

    Paul L. E. Bodelier

Authors
  1. Paul L. E. Bodelier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul L. E. Bodelier.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bodelier, P. Bypassing the methane cycle. Nature 523, 534–535 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14633

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14633

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing