Shared and unique environmental factors determine the ecology of methanogens in humans and rats

Florin, Timothy H.; Zhu, Gu; Kirk, Katherine M.; Martin, Nicholas G.

doi:10.1016/s0002-9270(00)01111-4

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Environmental conditions and transmission of methanogens among individuals are also known to have important influences on the establishment of a methanogenic microbiota. In the cohabitation experiments of methanogenic and nonmethanogenic adult rats by Florin et al [2000], the methanogenic trait was transferred to nonmethanogenic adult rats. Once a methanogenic microbiota was established, all animals retained this trait over the 2‐year study period, indicating the remarkable stability of methanogens [Florin et al, 2000].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the cohabitation experiments of methanogenic and nonmethanogenic adult rats by Florin et al [2000], the methanogenic trait was transferred to nonmethanogenic adult rats. Once a methanogenic microbiota was established, all animals retained this trait over the 2‐year study period, indicating the remarkable stability of methanogens [Florin et al, 2000]. Furthermore, Bond et al [1971] observed an unusually high incidence of methane producers among institutionalized children living together in closed units for a long period of time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of the hydrogenotrophic microbiota of wild and captive black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in palenque national park, Mexico

Nakamura

Amato

Garber

et al. 2011

American J Primatol

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Intestinal methanogenesis is one of the major pathways for consumption of hydrogen produced by bacterial fermentation and is considered to affect the efficiency of host energy harvest; however, little information is available regarding the hydrogenotrophic pathways of nonhuman primates in the wild, in general, and of howler monkeys, in particular. Microbial fermentation of plant structural carbohydrates is an important feature in wild howlers owing to the high fiber and low available energy content of leaves, which make up the primary component of their diet. In contrast, captive howlers may consume greater quantities of fruits and vegetables that are higher in water, lower in fiber, and, along with commercial monkey chow commonly added to captive monkey diets, more readily digestible than the natural diet. In this study, we analyzed the composition of methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) from fecal samples of black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in the wild and in captivity. The hydrogenotrophic microbiota of three groups of monkeys was evaluated by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting, small clone library construction, and quantitative real-time PCR. Abundance of methanogens was lower than SRB in all howler monkey groups studied. DGGE banding patterns were highly similar within each wild and captive group but distinct among groups. Desulfovibrionales-enriched DGGE showed reduced microbial diversity in the captive animals compared with their wild counterparts. Taken together, the data demonstrate that environmental or dietary changes of the host imposed by captivity likely influence the composition of intestinal hydrogenotrophs in black howler monkeys.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the hydrogenotrophic microbiota of wild and captive black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in palenque national park, Mexico

Nakamura

Amato

Garber

et al. 2011

American J Primatol

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“…[35][36][37] They have been described in luminal intestinal microbial ecosystems producing methane, having CO 2 as the main carbon substrate. 38 Genomes of archaea have been described in persistent pathogens and it is suggested that they may confer metabolic capabilities as adaptational strategies for survival even in hostile host niches by breaching host barriers that exclude other organisms. 39 Recently, genetic sequences of members of domain archaea were found in necrotic material from apical periodontitis, suggesting that archaea may play a role as a human pathogen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Role for Archaeal Organisms in Development of Atherosclerotic Vulnerable Plaques and Myxoid Matrices

Higuchi

Santos

Roggério

et al. 2006

Clinics

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HG, Canzian M. A role for archaeal organisms in development of atherosclerotic vulnerable plaques and myxoid matrices. CLINICS. 2006;61(5):473-8.PURPOSE: Vulnerable plaques are characterized by a myxoid matrix, necrotic lipidic core, reactive oxygen species, and high levels of microorganisms. Aerobic microbes such as Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae usually do not survive in oxidative stress media. Archaea are anaerobic microbes with powerful anti-oxidative enzymes that allow detoxification of free radicals whose presence might favor the survival of aerobic microorganisms. We searched for archaeal organisms in vulnerable plaques, and possible associations with myxoid matrix, chlamydia, and mycoplasma bodies. METHODS: Twenty-nine tissue samples from 13 coronary artherectomies from large excentric ostial or bifurcational lesions were studied using optical and electron microscopy. Infectious agents compatible with archaea, chlamydia, and mycoplasma were semiquantified using electron micrographs and correlated with the amounts of fibromuscular tissue, myxoid matrix, and foam cells, as determined from semi-thin sections. Six of the cases were also submitted to polymerase chain reaction with archaeal primers. RESULTS: All 13 specimens showed archaeal-compatible structures and chlamydial and mycoplasmal bodies in at least 1 sample. There was a positive correlation between extent of the of myxoid matrix and archaeal bodies (r = 0.44, P = 0.02); between archaeal and mycoplasmal bodies (r = 0.41, P = 0.03), and between chlamydial bodies and foam cells (r = 0.42; P = 0.03). The PCR test was positive for archaeal DNA in 4 of the 6 fragments. DISCUSSION: DNA and forms suggestive of archaea are present in vulnerable plaques and may have a fundamental role in the proliferation of mycoplasma and chlamydia. This seems to be the first description of apparently pathogenic archaea in human internal organ lesions. CLINICS 2006;61(5):473-8 A role for archaeal organisms in development of atherosclerotic Higuchi ML et al.

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“…Methane of biological origin can be found in a wide variety of anaerobic environments, from peat bogs to the digestive tracts of animals and deep-sea hydrothermal vents (McDonald et al 1999, Takai and Horikoshi 1999, Florin et al 2000. In all these locations, large quantities of methane originate from only one type of biological methane producer, archaeal methanogens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Higher‐level classification of the Archaea: evolution of methanogenesis and methanogens

Bapteste

Brochier

Boucher

2005

Archaea

228

204

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We used a phylogenetic approach to analyze the evolution of methanogenesis and methanogens. We show that 23 vertically transmitted ribosomal proteins do not support the monophyly of methanogens, and propose instead that there are two distantly related groups of extant archaea that produce methane, which we have named Class I and Class II. Based on this finding, we subsequently investigated the uniqueness of the origin of methanogenesis by studying both the enzymes of methanogenesis and the proteins that synthesize its specific coenzymes. We conclude that hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis appeared only once during evolution. Genes involved in the seven central steps of the methanogenic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) are ubiquitous in methanogens and share a common history. This suggests that, although extant methanogens produce methane from various substrates (CO(2), formate, acetate, methylated C-1 compounds), these archaea have a core of conserved enzymes that have undergone little evolutionary change. Furthermore, this core of methanogenesis enzymes seems to originate (as a whole) from the last ancestor of all methanogens and does not appear to have been horizontally transmitted to other organisms or between members of Class I and Class II. The observation of a unique and ancestral form of methanogenesis suggests that it was preserved in two independent lineages, with some instances of specialization or added metabolic flexibility. It was likely lost in the Halobacteriales, Thermoplasmatales and Archaeoglobales. Given that fossil evidence for methanogenesis dates back 2.8 billion years, a unique origin of this process makes the methanogenic archaea a very ancient taxon.

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Shared and unique environmental factors determine the ecology of methanogens in humans and rats

Cited by 10 publications

References 20 publications

Analysis of the hydrogenotrophic microbiota of wild and captive black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in palenque national park, Mexico

Analysis of the hydrogenotrophic microbiota of wild and captive black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in palenque national park, Mexico

A Role for Archaeal Organisms in Development of Atherosclerotic Vulnerable Plaques and Myxoid Matrices

Higher‐level classification of the Archaea: evolution of methanogenesis and methanogens

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