Abstract
Washed cell suspensions of Methanobacterium formicicum MF, Methanobacterium bryantii M.o.H.G. and Methanobacterium strain FR-2 but not Methanobacterium bryantii M.o.H., were shown to produce hydrogen and methane from formate. Levels of dissolved gases (H2 and CH4) were continuously and simultaneously monitored within a closed reaction vessel using membrane inlet mass spectrometry. Growth on formate (0–50mM), measured by methane production and increase in absorbance, was observed for both M. formicicum MF and M. bryantii M.o.H.G. but not with Methanobacterium strain FR-2 or M. bryantii M.o.H.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Archer DB (1984) Hydrogen-using bacteria in a methanogenic acetate enrichment culture. J Appl Bacteriol 56: 125–129
Archer DB, King NR (1983) A novel ultrastructural feature of a gasvacuolated Methanosarcina. FEMS Microbiol Lett 16: 217–223
Balch WE, Fox GE, Magrum LJ, Woese CR, Wolfe RS (1979) Methanogens: reevaluation of a unique biological group. Microbiol Rev 43: 260–296
Barber MJ, Siegel LM, Schauer NL, May HD, Ferry JG (1983) Formate dehydrogenase from Methanobacterium formicicum. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of the molybdenum and iron-sulfur centers. J Biol Chem 258: 10839–10845
Benstead J, Archer DB, Lloyd D (1990) Role of hydrogen in the growth of mutualistic methanogenic cocultures. In: Bélaich J-P, Bruschi M, Garcia J-L (eds) Microbiology and biochemistry of strict anaerobes involved in interspecies hydrogen transfer. Plenum Press, New York, pp 161–171
Bohátka S, Langer G, Szilágyi J, Berecz I (1983) Gas concentration determination in fermentors with quadrupole mass spectrometer. Int J Mass Spectrom Ion Phys 48: 277–280
Boone DR, Mah RA (1989) Methanogenic archaebacteria. In: Staley JT, Bryant MP, Pfennig N, Holt JG (eds) Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology, vol 3. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, pp 2173–2216
Boone DR, Whitman WB (1988) Proposal of minimal standards for describing new taxa of methanogenic bacteria. Int J Syst Bacteriol 38: 212–219
Boone DR, Johnson RL, Liu Y (1989) Diffusion of the interspecies electron carriers H2 and formate in methanogenic ecosystems and its implications in the measurement of K m for H2 or formate uptake. Appl Environ Microbiol 55: 1735–1741
Bryant MP (1972) Commentary on the Hungate technique for culture of anaerobic bacteria. Am J Clin Nutr 25: 1324–1328
Bryant MP (1974) Part 13. Methane-producing bacteria. In: Buchanan RE, Gibbons NE (eds) Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology, 8th edn. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, pp 472–477
Bryant MP, Boone DR (1987) Isolation and characterization of Methanobacterium formicicum MF. Int J Syst Bacteriol 37: 171
Bryant MP, Wolin EA, Wolin MJ, Wolfe RS (1967) Methanobacillus omelianskii, a symbiotic association of two species of bacteria. Arch Mikrobiol 59: 20–31
Davis RP, Harris JE (1985) Spontaneous protoplast formation by Methanosarcina barkeri. J Gen Microbiol 131: 1481–1486
Hungate RE (1969) A roll tube method for cultivation of strict anaerobes. In: Norris JR, Ribbons DW (eds) Methods in microbiology, vol 3B. Academic Press Inc., London, pp 117–132
Kemp HA, Archer DB, Morgan MRA (1988) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for the specific and sensitive quantification of Methanosarcina mazei and Methanobacterium bryantii. Appl Environ Microbiol 54: 1003–1008
König H (1984) Isolation and characterization of Methanobacterium uliginosum sp. nov. from a marshy soil. Can J Microbiol 30: 1477–1481
Langenberg KF, Bryant MP, Wolfe RS (1968) Hydrogen-oxidizing methane bacteria II. Electron microscopy. J Bacteriol 95: 1124–1129
Lloyd D, Scott RI (1983) Direct measurement of dissolved gases in microbiological systems using membrane inlet mass spectrometry. J Microbiol Methods 1: 313–328
Lowry OH, Rosebrough NJ, Farr AL, Randall RJ (1951) Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem 193: 265–275
Mazumder TK, Nishio N, Nagai S (1985) Carbon monoxide conversion to formate by Methanosarcina barkeri. Biotechnol Lett 7: 377–382
Patel GB, Sprott GD, Fein JE (1990) Isolation and characterization of Methanobacterium espanolae sp. nov., a mesophilic, moderately acidophilic methanogen Int J Syst Bacteriol 40: 12–18
Schauer NL, Ferry JG (1982) Properties of formate dehydrogenase in Methanobacterium formicicum. J Bacteriol 150: 1–7 (Erratum 151: 1642)
Sparling R, Daniels L (1990) Regulation of formate dehydrogenase activity in Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus. J Bacteriol 172: 1464–1469
Thiele JH, Zeikus JG (1988) Control of interspecies electron flow during anaerobic digestion: significance of formate transfer versus hydrogen transfer during syntrophic methanogenesis in flocs. Appl Environ Microbiol 54: 20–29
Zellner G, Bleicher K, Braun E, Kneifel H, Tindall BJ, Conwayde Macario E, Winter J (1989) Characterization of a new mesophilic, secondary alcohol-utilizing methanogen, Methanobacterium palustre spec. nov. from a peat bog. Arch Microbiol 151: 1–9
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Benstead, J., Archer, D.B. & Lloyd, D. Formate utilization by members of the genus Methanobacterium . Arch. Microbiol. 156, 34–37 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00418184
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00418184