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Complete degradation of carbohydrate to carbon dioxide and methane by syntrophic cultures of Acetobacterium woodii and Methanosarcina barkeri.

Methanosarcina barkeri (strain MS) grew and converted acetate to CO2 and methane after an adaption period of 20 days. Growth and metabolism were rapid with gas production being comparable to that of cells grown on H2 and CO2. After an intermediary growth cycle under a H2 and CO2 atmosphere acetate-adapted cells were capable of growth on acetate with formation of methane and CO2. When acetate-adapted Methanosarcina barkeri was co-cultured with Acetobacterium woodii on fructose or glucose as substrate, a complete conversion of the carbohydrate to gases (CO2 and CH4) was observed.

Acetates

ModE Regulates Alternative Nitrogenase Expression in the Methanogen Methanosarcina acetivorans.

All methanogens that can fix nitrogen use molybdenum (Mo) nitrogenase. Some methanogens, including Methanosarcina acetivorans , also contain alternative vanadium- and iron-nitrogenases, encoded by the vnf and anf operons, respectively. These nitrogenases are produced when there is insufficient Mo to support Mo-nitrogenase activity. The factors that control the expression of the alternative nitrogenases in response to Mo availability are unknown in methanogens. Here we show that ModE is the regulator that represses transcription of the vnf and anf operons in M. acetivorans when cells are grown with Mo. CRISPRi repression of modE results in a significant increase in the transcription of the vnf and anf operons as well as the detection of Fe-nitrogenase during nitrogen fixation in the presence of Mo. Gel shift assays with recombinant ModE demonstrated that ModE binds a specific sequence motif upstream of the vnf and anf operons, as well as other genes and operons related to nitrogen fixation and Mo transport. However, purified ModE does not contain Mo, and the addition of Mo does not alter the affinity of ModE for DNA, indicating M. acetivorans ModE may not directly bind Mo. This study shows that ModE is the primary Mo-responsive regulator of alternative nitrogenase expression in M. acetivorans , but other factor(s) are likely involved in directly sensing Mo.

Methanosarcina

Utilization of trimethylamine and other N-methyl compounds for growth and methane formation by Methanosarcina barkeri.

A number of N-methyl compounds, including several methylamines, creatine, sarcosine, choline, and betaine, were readily fermented by enrichment cultures yielding methane as a major product. Methylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine, and ethyldimethylamine were fermented by pure cultures of Methanosarcina barkeri; except for ethyldimethylamine, these amines are considered important substrates of this methanogenic microorganism. Creatine, sarcosine, choline, and betaine were fermented to methane only by mixed cultures. During growth of M. barkeri on methyl-, dimethyl-, or trimethylamine, methanol was not excreted into the medium. The fermentation of trimethylamine gave rise to an intermediary accumulation of methyl- and dimethylamine in the medium. An accumulation of methylamine during the fermentation of dimethylamine was not observed. Methane and ammonia were produced from the three methylamines by M. barkeri in amounts expected on the basis of the appropriate fermentation equations. The growth yield was 5.8 mg of cells (dry weight) per mmol of methane and was not dependent on the kind of methyl compound used as substrate.

Euryarchaeota

Growth and methanogenesis by Methanosarcina strain 227 on acetate and methanol.

Methanosarcina strain 227 exhibited exponential growth on sodium acetate in the absence of added H(2). Under these conditions, rates of methanogenesis were limited by concentrations of acetate below 0.05 M. One mole of methane was formed per mole of acetate consumed. Additional evidence from radioactive labeling studies indicated that sufficient energy for growth was obtained by the decarboxylation of acetate. Diauxic growth and sequential methanogenesis from methanol followed by acetate occurred in the presence of mixtures of methanol and acetate. Detailed studies showed that methanol-grown cells did not metabolize acetate in the presence of methanol, although acetate-grown cells did metabolize methanol and acetate simultaneously before shifting to methanol. Acetate catabolism appeared to be regulated in response to the presence of better metabolizable substrates such as methanol or H(2)-CO(2) by a mechanism resembling catabolite repression. Inhibition of methanogenesis from acetate by 2-bromoethanesulfonate, an analog of coenzyme M, was reversed by addition of coenzyme M. Labeling studies also showed that methanol may lie on the acetate pathway. These results suggested that methanogenesis from acetate, methanol, and H(2)-CO(2) may have some steps in common, as originally proposed by Barker. Studies with various inhibitors, together with molar growth yield data, suggest a role for electron transport mechanisms in energy metabolism during methanogenesis from methanol, acetate, and H(2)-CO(2).

Acetates

[Cyst formation by methanosarcina].

The morphology of a coccoid, methane producing bacterium growing on acetate was studied. The organism is capable of forming morphologically differentiated cells, nicrocysts, whose structure resembles that of bacterial surviving cells. The organism from peculiar macrocysts in the enrichment culture. In its other characteristics, the organism is similar to Methanococcus mazei. However, it clasibied as Methanosarcina, biotype 3, due to the characteristic formation of multicellular pseudococci.

Euryarchaeota

Squalenes, phytanes and other isoprenoids as major neutral lipids of methanogenic and thermoacidophilic "archaebacteria".

The neutral lipids of nine species of methanogenic bacteria including five methanobacilli, two methanococci, a methanospirillum, one methanosarcina as well as two thermoacidophilic bacteria, Thermoplasma and Sulfolobus, were analyzed. The major components were C30, C25 and/or C20 acylic isoprenoid hydrocarbons with a continuous range of hydroisoprenoid homologues. The range of acyclic isoprenoids detected were from C14 to C30. Apart from Methanosarcina barkeri, squalene and/or hydrosqualene derivetives were the predominant components in all species studied. The components of Methanosarcina barkeri were a family of C25 homologues. The distribution of the neutral lipid components and their specific variations in relative intensities emphasized the differences between the test organisms while the generic nature of the isoprenoid hydrocarbons demonstrated similarities between the diverse bacteria. The neutral lipid compositions from these bacteria, many of which exist in environmental conditions like those described for the various evolutionary stages of the archean ecology, resemble the isoprenoid distribution isolated from ancient sediments and petroleum. Therefore, these finding may have major implications to biological and biogeochemical evolution.

Cell Wall

Feedstock-specific effects of sulfur-rich vegetable fractions on food waste anaerobic digestion: Sulfide-associated redox perturbation and adaptive microbial reassembly.

Food waste (FW) anaerobic digestion (AD) is strongly affected by feedstock heterogeneity, yet the role of sulfur-rich vegetable fractions remains poorly defined. Here, garlic (GAR), Chinese cabbage (CHC), and cabbage (CAB) were used as representative sulfur-rich vegetables to assess their effects on methane production, redox status, and microbial function during FW AD. At equal volatile solids loading, GAR showed no significant effect, whereas CHC and CAB caused a biphasic response, with delayed methane accumulation and reduced cumulative yield followed by late-stage daily methane production 39.6% and 45.9% higher than the control, respectively. CHC and CAB promoted sulfide accumulation and elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the early stage. Elevated ROS levels were associated with lower NADH/NAD+ ratios, reduced electron transport activity, and volatile fatty acid accumulation, collectively indicating a redox-perturbed state characterized by functional decoupling between acidogenesis and methanogenesis. Metagenomic analysis showed that this early disturbance was followed by functional reassembly of the community. Hydrolytic-acidogenic bacteria sustained fermentation, accompanied by enrichment of genes associated with PFOR-Rnf-mediated energy conservation and the ED and oxidative PPP pathways, while methanogenesis shifted toward acetoclastic and methylotrophic routes. Genome-resolved analysis attributed the genomic potential for PFOR-Rnf-mediated energy conservation to Aminobacterium and Defluviitoga MAGs, and showed that Methanosarcina possessed the broadest oxidative stress defense repertoire, supporting its dominance after ROS perturbation. These findings provide a mechanistic framework linking sulfur-rich feedstock heterogeneity to methane-production dynamics, involving sulfide-associated redox perturbation and subsequent microbial functional reassembly.

Energy conservation

Depth-dependent microbial succession and interspecies hydrogen transfer drive pit mud maturation in Chinese strong-flavor baijiu fermentation.

Microbial communities in fermentation pit mud play a key role in determining the quality of Chinese strong-flavor baijiu (CSFB). However, the ecological processes underlying pit mud maturation across spatial and temporal scales remain unclear. In this study, amplicon sequencing and metagenomic analyses were employed to investigate the taxonomic succession, community assembly, and metabolic functions of bacterial and archaeal communities during the transition from fresh pit mud (FPM) to new pit mud (NPM) and old pit mud (OPM). A pronounced depth-dependent succession pattern was observed, with 4 cm representing a critical ecological boundary separating distinct community structures and maturation trajectories. During surface-layer maturation, community assembly shifted from stochastic to deterministic processes, accompanied by homogeneous selection and increasing network complexity. In contrast, stochastic processes remained dominant throughout deep-layer maturation. Metagenomic analyses revealed a functional transition from lactate and acetate production, primarily associated with Lactobacillus in FPM and NPM, to butyrate and caproate production associated with Clostridium and Caproiciproducens in OPM. This functional transition was accompanied by enhanced amino acid metabolism, which was associated with the enrichment of Proteiniphilum and Aminobacterium. Notably, methanogen-mediated interspecies hydrogen transfer (IHT) emerged as a key ecological feature during pit mud maturation. In OPM, IHT networks primarily involving Methanobacterium and Methanosarcina linked methanogenesis with reverse β-oxidation through diverse hydrogen-transfer pathways, reinforcing metabolic interactions underlying caproate production. These findings provide new insights into the ecological mechanisms underlying pit mud maturation and offer a theoretical basis for the directed cultivation of high-quality pit mud in CSFB production.

Hydrogen

Secondary fermentation in the runen of a sheep given a diet based on molasses.

1. The extent of conversion of acetate-carbon to carbon dioxide in the rumen of a 40 kg wether consuming 1 kg molasses/d was estimated using isotope-tracer-dilution techniques. 2. There was a high rate of conversion of acetate to CO2 (6.0 g C/d) in the rumen. There were high concentrations in the rumen of Methanosarcina approximately 6 x 10(9)/ml which represents a significant proportion of the rumen bacterial biomass. These organisms are usually found in mud and sludge and are capable of oxidizing acetate. 3. The most likely explanation of these results was that there was an extensive secondary or sludge-type fermentation occurring in the rumen which results in volatile fatty acids being converted to CO2 and methane. In similar studies with sheep given lucerne (Medicago sativa) diets, conversion of acetate-C to CO2 within the rumen was not evident. 4. It is suggested that a major effect of the presence of secondary fermentation processes in the rumen may be to reduce availability of energy nutrients to the animal, and to alter the ratio protein:energy in the absorbed nutrients.

Acetates

One-carbon metabolism in methanogenic bacteria: analysis of short-term fixation products of 14CO2 and 14CH3OH incorporated into whole cells.

Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, M. ruminantium, and Methanosarcina barkeri were labeled with 14CO2 (14CO2 + H14CO3- + 14CO32-) for from 2 to 45 s. Radioactivity was recovered in coenzyme M derivatives, alanine, aspartate, glutamate, and several unidentified compounds. The properties of one important structurally unidentified intermediate (yellow fluorescent compound) displayed UV absorbance maxima at pH 1 of 290 and 335 nm, no absorbance in the visible region, and a fluorescence maximum at 460 nm. Label did not appear in organic phosphates until after 1 min. 14CH3OH was converted by M. barkeri primarily into coenzyme M derivatives at 25 s. [2-14C]acetate was assimilated by M. thermoautotrophicum mainly into alanine and succinate during 2 to 240 s, but not into coenzyme M derivatives or yellow fluorescent compound. Cell-free extracts of M. thermoautotrophicum lacked ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase activity. The data indicated the absence of the Calvin, serine, and hexulose phosphate paths of C1 assimilation in the methanogens examined and indicated that pyruvate was an early intermediate product of net CO2 fixation. The in vivo importance of coenzyme M derivatives in methanogenesis was demonstrated.

Alanine

Distribution of coenzyme F420 and properties of its hydrolytic fragments.

The ability of hydrolytic products of coenzyme F420 to substitute for F420 in the hydrogenase and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-liniked hydrogenase systems of Methanobacterium strain M.o.H. was kinetically determined. The nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-linked hydrogenase system was employed to quantitate the levels of F420 in a number of methanogenic bacteria as well as in some nonmethanogens. Methanobacterium ruminantium and Methanosarcina barkeri contained low levels of F420, whereas other methanogens tested contained high levels (100 to 400 mg/kg of cells). F420 from six of the seven methanogens was tested by thin-layer electrophoresis and was found to be electrophoretically identical to that purified from Methanobacterium strain M.o.H. The only exception was M. barkeri, which contained a more electronegative derivative of F420. Acetobacterium woodii, Escherichia coli, and yeast extract contained no compounds able to substitute for F420 in the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-linked hydrogenase system.

Acetobacter