The influence of antibiotic perturbation on methane oxidation from the perspective of cross-media coupling: Effects, mechanisms and prospects.

Methane oxidation represents a vital biological sink for mitigating methane emissions and climate warming. However, the responses of methane oxidation to antibiotic exposure, together with the associated ecological consequences, remain insufficiently understood. This review synthesizes current evidence on the environmental consequences of antibiotic-induced perturbations to methane oxidation and the mechanisms underlying these effects across multiple scales and environmental compartments, including soils, freshwater sediments, estuarine wetlands, aquaculture sediments, and biofilms in constructed wetlands. Particular attention is given to aerobic methane oxidation and denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation, with antibiotic effects evaluated at the molecular, physiological, microbial-community, and ecosystem levels. At the cellular level, antibiotics may interfere with particulate methane monooxygenase activity and induce reactive oxygen species-mediated oxidative stress, whereas dose- and exposure-duration-dependent effects may produce low-dose stimulation, high-dose inhibition, or other non-monotonic response patterns. At broader ecological scales, these direct effects are further modulated by antibiotic-induced changes in redox conditions, nitrogen and sulfur cycling, microbial community composition, microbial interaction networks, and antibiotic resistance gene enrichment; collectively, these changes reshape methane oxidation capacity. Available evidence therefore indicates strong environmental-compartment dependence, process specificity, and dose-time dependence in the response of methane oxidation to antibiotic exposure. By altering the balance between methane production and consumption, these perturbations may ultimately modify net methane fluxes and thereby generate additional feedbacks to climate warming. This review provides a mechanistic framework for understanding antibiotic-induced perturbations of methane oxidation, identifies priorities for future research, and supports the integration of methane-cycle responses into ecological risk assessment and environmental management across diverse environmental compartments.