Methanobacterium aarhusense

A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Methanobacterium aarhusense

Contents 1 Classification 1.1 Higher order taxa 1.2 Species 2 Description and significance 3 Genome structure 4 Cell and colony structure 5 Metabolism 6 Ecology 7 References

Classification

Higher order taxa

Archaea, Euryarchaeota, Methanobacteria, Methanobacteriales, Methanobacteriaceae Species

NCBI: TaxonomyGenome: Methanobacterium aarhusense

Description and Significance

M. aarhusense is mesophilic, moderately halophilic, non-motile, meaning that it is a very picky microbe and prefers temperatures above 30℃. The optimum growth temperature is 45℃. It grows well at pH of 7-5 and 8, however the optimum pH is unknown. Grows well in NaCl concentration range of 100 and 900mM.

Genome Structure

DNA G+C content is 34-39 mol %. The strain forms a distinct line of descent within this genus, with Methanobacterium oryzae (95·9 % sequence identity) and Methanobacterium bryantii (95.7% sequence identity).

Cell and colony structure

It is 5-18 μm long and 0-7 μm wide, filamentous. It is a gram positive meaning that it has a thick peptidoglycan layer. M. aarhusense does not possess any pili or flagella, keep it non-motile. A large sample has been sequenced and contains 1333 base pairs.

Metabolism

M. aarhusense is a hydrogenotrophic methanogen, meaning that it converts hydrogen to energy as a way of metabolism and produces methane. No growth or methane production was observed at 1 M NaCl. At 50 mM NaCl, growth and methane production were reduced.

Ecology

M. aarhusense is a chemoautotroph, meaning that it produces complex organic compounds from simple substances. Optimal growth temperature is 45℃. Grows at pH 7-5 and 8. Can live in a CaCl concentration of 100 and 900 mM. Isolated from marine sediment in Aarhus Bay, Denmark. An artificial marine medium was created and it consists of three different solutions. Solution A consists of NaCl, 20; MgCl2.6H2O, 3; KCl, 0·7; NH4Cl, 0·2; KH2PO4, 0·2; CaCl2.2H2O, 0·2. Solution B consists of NaHCO3, 2·5 g in 30 ml demineralized water. Lastly, solution C consists of: 1·5 ml l−1 of 0·04 g Na2S.9H2O ml−1 demineralized water. On the agar, the colonies were circular and grayish, with white surrounding it.

References:

Boone, D. R. (2001). Genus I. Methanobacterium. In Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd edn, vol. 1, pp. 215–218. Edited by D. R. Boone & R. W. Castenholz. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Goldman AD, Leigh JA, Samudrala R. Comprehensive computational analysis of Hmd enzymes and paralogs in methanogenic Archaea. <http://openi.nlm.nih.gov/detailedresult.php? img=2739858_1471-2148-9-199-1&req=4>

IJSEM May 2004 vol. 54 no. 3 759-763. Methanobacterium aarhusense sp. nov., a novel methanogen isolated from a marine sediment (Aarhus Bay, Denmark). <http://ijs.sgmjournals.org/content/54/3/759/F2.expansion>

Shlimon, Adris Georgis, Michael W. Friedrich, Helge Niemann, Niels Birger Ramsing, Kai Finster. "Methanobacterium aarhusense sp. nov., a novel methanogen isolated from a marine sediment (Aarhus Bay, Denmark)." International Journal Of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 30 January 2004. 9 February 2013 <http://ijs.sgmjournals.org/content/54/3/759.abstract>.

Edited by Stephen Sweatt of Dr. Lisa R. Moore, University of Southern Maine, Department of Biological Sciences, http://www.usm.maine.edu/bio Category: Uncurated Pages