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Carbon monoxide-dependent energy metabolism in anaerobic bacteria and archaea

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Abstract

Despite its toxicity for the majority of living matter on our planet, numerous microorganisms, both aerobic and anaerobic, can use carbon monoxide (CO) as a source of carbon and/or energy for growth. The capacity to employ carboxidotrophic energy metabolism anaerobically is found in phylogenetically diverse members of the Bacteria and the Archaea. The oxidation of CO is coupled to numerous respiratory processes, such as desulfurication, hydrogenogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis. Although as diverse as the organisms capable of it, any CO-dependent energy metabolism known depends on the presence of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase. This review summarizes recent insights into the CO-dependent physiology of anaerobic microorganisms with a focus on methanogenic archaea. Carboxidotrophic growth of Methanosarcina acetivorans, thought to strictly rely on the process of methanogenesis, also involves formation of methylated thiols, formate, and even acetogenesis, and, thus, exemplifies how the beneficial redox properties of CO can be exploited in unexpected ways by anaerobic microorganisms.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to V. Müller, University of Frankfurt, for his generous support. We also thank W.W. Metcalf, University of Illinois, for stimulating discussions and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions. The work in the authors’ laboratory was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (RO 2445/2-1) within the SPP1112.

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  1. Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften, Abteilung Molekulare Mikrobiologie und Bioenergetik, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Ellen Oelgeschläger & Michael Rother

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  1. Ellen Oelgeschläger
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Correspondence to Michael Rother.

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Communicated by Harald Huber.

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Oelgeschläger, E., Rother, M. Carbon monoxide-dependent energy metabolism in anaerobic bacteria and archaea. Arch Microbiol 190, 257–269 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-008-0382-6

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