Methanogenic archaea: ecologically relevant differences in energy conservation

Thauer, Rudolf K.; Kaster, Anne‐Kristin; Seedorf, Henning; Buckel, Wolfgañg; Hedderich, Reiner

doi:10.1038/nrmicro1931

Cited by 1,662 publications

(1,657 citation statements)

References 119 publications

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“…However, in some studies the proportion of these different groups was inversed or differed greatly (Janssen and Kirs, 2008 and references therein), and it is not clear whether the major differences in archaeal distribution between studies are due to methodological differences or truly reflect differences due to animals and/or diets. Most rumen methanogens do not contain cytochromes and although they are less efficient at obtaining energy through the production of methane than their cytochrome-containing relatives of the order Methanosarcinales (Thauer et al, 2008), they are better adapted to the environmental conditions prevailing in the rumen. They have a lower threshold for H 2 partial pressure, a fast doubling time, that can be as short as 1 h, and they develop better at the mesophilic temperature and near neutral pH of the rumen (Thauer et al, 2008).…”

Section: Rumen Methanogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most rumen methanogens do not contain cytochromes and although they are less efficient at obtaining energy through the production of methane than their cytochrome-containing relatives of the order Methanosarcinales (Thauer et al, 2008), they are better adapted to the environmental conditions prevailing in the rumen. They have a lower threshold for H 2 partial pressure, a fast doubling time, that can be as short as 1 h, and they develop better at the mesophilic temperature and near neutral pH of the rumen (Thauer et al, 2008).…”

Section: Rumen Methanogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbial ecosystem and methanogenesis in ruminants

Morgavi

Forano²,

Martin

et al. 2010

Animal

502

406

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Ruminant production is under increased public scrutiny in terms of the importance of cattle and other ruminants as major producers of the greenhouse gas methane. Methanogenesis is performed by methanogenic archaea, a specialised group of microbes present in several anaerobic environments including the rumen. In the rumen, methanogens utilise predominantly H 2 and CO 2 as substrates to produce methane, filling an important functional niche in the ecosystem. However, in addition to methanogens, other microbes also have an influence on methane production either because they are involved in hydrogen (H 2 ) metabolism or because they affect the numbers of methanogens or other members of the microbiota. This study explores the relationship between some of these microbes and methanogenesis and highlights some functional groups that could play a role in decreasing methane emissions. Dihydrogen ('H 2 ' from this point on) is the key element that drives methane production in the rumen. Among H 2 producers, protozoa have a prominent position, which is strengthened by their close physical association with methanogens, which favours H 2 transfer from one to the other. A strong positive interaction was found between protozoal numbers and methane emissions, and because this group is possibly not essential for rumen function, protozoa might be a target for methane mitigation. An important function that is associated with production of H 2 is the degradation of fibrous plant material. However, not all members of the rumen fibrolytic community produce H 2 . Increasing the proportion of non-H 2 producing fibrolytic microorganisms might decrease methane production without affecting forage degradability. Alternative pathways that use electron acceptors other than CO 2 to oxidise H 2 also exist in the rumen. Bacteria with this type of metabolism normally occupy a distinct ecological niche and are not dominant members of the microbiota; however, their numbers can increase if the right potential electron acceptor is present in the diet. Nitrate is an alternative electron sinks that can promote the growth of particular bacteria able to compete with methanogens. Because of the toxicity of the intermediate product, nitrite, the use of nitrate has not been fully explored, but in adapted animals, nitrite does not accumulate and nitrate supplementation may be an alternative under some dietary conditions that deserves to be further studied. In conclusion, methanogens in the rumen co-exist with other microbes, which have contrasting activities. A better understanding of these populations and the pathways that compete with methanogenesis may provide novel targets for emissions abatement in ruminant production.

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Section: Rumen Methanogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rumen Methanogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial ecosystem and methanogenesis in ruminants

Morgavi

Forano²,

Martin

et al. 2010

Animal

502

406

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…By employing the methanothroph bacteria through some oxidation mechanisms, CH 4 could be converted into CO 2 (Nieder & Benbi 2008;Thaurer et al 2008). CH 4 is oxidized by O 2 into (Thauer et al 2008).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane production potential of soil profile in organic paddy field

Mujiyo¹,

Sunarminto²,

Hanudin³

et al. 2017

Soil & Water Res.

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Mujiyo M., Sunarminto B.H., Hanudin E., Widada J., Syamsiyah J. (2017): Methane production potential of soil profile in organic paddy field. Soil & Water Res., 12: 212−219.The use of organic fertilizers in the organic paddy/rice field can increase methane (CH 4 ) production, which leads to environmental problems. In this study, we aimed to determine the CH 4 production potential (CH 4 -PP) by a soil profile from samples using flood incubation. Soil properties (chemical, physical, and biological) were analyzed from soil samples of three different paddy farming systems (organic, semi-organic, and conventional), whilst soil from teak forest was used as the control. A significant relationship was determined between soil properties and CH 4 -PP. The average amount of CH 4 -PP in the organic rice field profile was the highest among all the samples (1.36 µg CH 4 /kg soil/day). However, the CH 4 oxidation potential (CH 4 -OP) is high as well, as this was a chance of mitigation options should focus on increasing the methanotrophic activity which might reduce CH 4 emissions to the atmosphere. The factor most influencing CH 4 -PP is soil C-organic (C org ). C org and CH 4 -PP of the top soil of organic rice fields were 2.09% and 1.81 µg CH 4 /kg soil/day, respectively. As a consequence, here the mitigation options require more efforts than in the other farming systems. Soil with various amounts of C org reached a maximum point of CH 4 -PP at various time after incubation (20, 15, and 10 days for the highest, medium, and the lowest amounts of C org , respectively). A high amount of C org provided enough C substrate for producing a higher amount of CH 4 and reaching its longer peak production than the low amount of C org . These findings also provide guidance that mitigation option reduces CH 4 emissions from organic rice fields and leads to drainage every10-20 days before reaching the maximum CH 4 -PP.

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“…Methanosarcinales have been extensively studied for their biochemistry and genetics (Ferry, 2011). All other orders of methanogens lack cytochromes and typically reduce CO 2 using H 2 , formate and secondary alcohols (Thauer et al, 2008), although some are capable of reducing methylated substrates with H 2 Brugère et al, 2014). Much of what is known about cytochrome-deficient methanogens comes from biochemical and genetic experiments performed on members of the Methanobacteriales and Methanococcales orders (Ferry, 2011), compared with which the cytochrome-deficient Methanomicrobiales are highly understudied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic composition and dynamics among Methanomicrobiales predict adaptation to contrasting environments

et al. 2016

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Members of the order Methanomicrobiales are abundant, and sometimes dominant, hydrogenotrophic (H 2 -CO 2 utilizing) methanoarchaea in a broad range of anoxic habitats. Despite their key roles in greenhouse gas emissions and waste conversion to methane, little is known about the physiological and genomic bases for their widespread distribution and abundance. In this study, we compared the genomes of nine diverse Methanomicrobiales strains, examined their pangenomes, reconstructed gene flow and identified genes putatively mediating their success across different habitats. Most strains slowly increased gene content whereas one, Methanocorpusculum labreanum, evidenced genome downsizing. Peat-dwelling Methanomicrobiales showed adaptations centered on improved transport of scarce inorganic nutrients and likely use H + rather than Na + transmembrane chemiosmotic gradients during energy conservation. In contrast, other Methanomicrobiales show the potential to concurrently use Na + and H + chemiosmotic gradients. Analyses also revealed that the Methanomicrobiales lack a canonical electron bifurcation system (MvhABGD) known to produce low potential electrons in other orders of hydrogenotrophic methanogens. Additional putative differences in anabolic metabolism suggest that the dynamics of interspecies electron transfer from Methanomicrobiales syntrophic partners can also differ considerably. Altogether, these findings suggest profound differences in electron trafficking in the Methanomicrobiales compared with other hydrogenotrophs, and warrant further functional evaluations.

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Methanogenic archaea: ecologically relevant differences in energy conservation

Cited by 1,662 publications

References 119 publications

Microbial ecosystem and methanogenesis in ruminants

Microbial ecosystem and methanogenesis in ruminants

Methane production potential of soil profile in organic paddy field

Genomic composition and dynamics among Methanomicrobiales predict adaptation to contrasting environments

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