Silicate fertilizer mitigates methane emissions from rice paddies by enriching Burkholderia to modulate microbial interactions.

Silicate fertilizer enriches Burkholderia vietnamiensis, which alone can suppress methane emissions and boost methanotrophs in rice paddies.

• Why it matters: Methane emissions from rice paddies significantly contribute to greenhouse gases, and understanding microbial mechanisms for mitigation can inform sustainable farming practices.
• What they did: Researchers combined metagenomic profiling, microbial isolation, and greenhouse experiments to show SF enriches B. vietnamiensis and methanotrophs, with inoculation of B. vietnamiensis reproducing methane suppression.
• The result: B. vietnamiensis HU01 stimulates methanotroph growth via secreted metabolites, offering a microbial resource for climate-smart rice cultivation and methane mitigation.