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Effect of trimethylamine on acetate utilization by Methanosarcina barkeri

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Abstract

During growth of Methanosarcina barkeri strain Fusaro on a mixture of trimethylamine and acetate, methane production and acetate consumption were biphasic. In the first phase trimethylamine (33 mmol x l-1) was depleted and some acetate (11–14 from 50 mmol x l-1) was metabolized simultaneously. In the second phase the remaining acetate was cleaved stoichiometrically into CH4 and CO2. Kinetic experiments with (2-14C)acetate revealed that only 2.5% of the methane produced in the first phase originated from acetate: 18% of the acetate metabolized was cleaved into CH4 and CO2, 23% of the acetate was oxidized, and 55% was assimilated. Methane produced from CD3−COOH in the first phase consisted of CD2H2 and CD3H in a ratio of 1:1.

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Blaut, M., Gottschalk, G. Effect of trimethylamine on acetate utilization by Methanosarcina barkeri . Arch. Microbiol. 133, 230–235 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00415007

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00415007

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