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Facultative Methane Oxidizers

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Taxonomy, Genomics and Ecophysiology of Hydrocarbon-Degrading Microbes

Part of the book series: Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology ((HHLM))

Abstract

Most aerobic methanotrophic bacteria grow only on C1 compounds (methane, methanol, formate, formaldehyde, or methylamines). However, facultative methanotrophs are able to use either methane or some non-C1 compounds as their sole energy sources. The existence of such bacteria was a controversial topic until facultative methanotrophy was conclusively demonstrated in members of the genus Methylocella, which are widely distributed in acidic and neutral terrestrial environments. Methylocella species are morphologically and genetically unlike obligate methanotrophs in several ways. They lack a particulate, membrane-bound methane monooxygenase that is nearly universal to methanotrophs and instead use only a soluble form of this enzyme for methane oxidation. The latter is repressed if an alternative multicarbon growth substrate is present. Methylocella spp. can grow on a range of alternative substrates including acetate, pyruvate, succinate, malate, ethanol, propane, ethane, propanol, propanediol, acetone, methyl acetate, acetol, glycerol, propionate, tetrahydrofuran, and gluconate. More limited facultative methanotrophy has also been demonstrated in several alphaproteobacterial methanotrophs of the genera Methylocystis and Methylocapsa, as well as in verrucomicrobial methanotrophs of the genus “Methylacidiphilum”. Unlike Methylocella spp., these methanotrophs all possess particulate methane monooxygenase, and growth is limited to only one or two alternative substrates (acetate, ethanol, or H2, depending on the strain). The metabolic flexibility of facultative methanotrophs offers new biotechnological potential and calls for revising our outlook on methane cycling in the environment.

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Abbreviations

GAF domains:

(Found in cGMP-phosphodiesterases adenylyl cyclases and FhlA, where FhlA is formate hydrogen-lyase transcriptional activator) are small-molecule-binding domains present in signal transduction proteins in organisms from all phyla

PLFA:

Phospholipid fatty acid

pMMO:

Particulate methane monooxygenase

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

SDS-PAGE:

Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

sMMO:

Soluble methane monooxygenase

TCA cycle:

Tricarboxylic acid cycle

EMC pathway:

Ethylmalonyl-coenzyme A pathway, PrMO Propane monooxygenase, SDIMO Soluble di-iron monooxygenase, ICM Intracytoplasmic pathway membranes

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Research Center of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    Svetlana N. Dedysh

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Peter F. Dunfield

Authors
  1. Svetlana N. Dedysh
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  2. Peter F. Dunfield
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Correspondence to Svetlana N. Dedysh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Essex, School of Biological Sciences University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, UK

    Terry J. McGenity

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Dedysh, S., Dunfield, P.F. (2018). Facultative Methane Oxidizers. In: McGenity, T. (eds) Taxonomy, Genomics and Ecophysiology of Hydrocarbon-Degrading Microbes. Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60053-6_11-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60053-6_11-1

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