Methanofollis

Methanofollis
Methanofollis
Scientific classification
Domain: Archaea
Kingdom: Euryarchaeota
Phylum: Euryarchaeota
Class: Methanomicrobia
Order: Methanomicrobiales
Family: Methanomicrobiaceae
Genus: Methanofollis
Binomial name
Methanofollis
Zellner et al. 1999
Species
  • M. aquaemaris
  • M. ethanolicus
  • M. formosanus
  • M. liminatans
  • M. tationis

In taxonomy, Methanofollis is a genus of the Methanomicrobiaceae.[1]

Contents

Description and significance

Methanofollis ("a methane-producing bag") is a non-motile, Gram-negative, obligately anaerobic, mesophilic archaeon that produces methane. It grows between the temperatures 20-45°C (optimuim = 34-40°C), and at the pH value of around 7.

Genome structure

The genome of the archaeon has not yet sequenced. The G + C content of the DNA is determined to be 60.0%.

Cell structure and metabolism

The cells of Methanofollis are highly irregular cocci, with diameter of 1.25-2.0µm.The major polar lipids are phospholipids, glycolipids, and phosphoglycolipids. It utilizes H2/CO2, formate, 2-propanol/CO2, and 2-butanol/CO2 for growth and methanogenesis. No growth has been observed on acetate, trimethylamine, methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, isobutanol, or 2-butanol as catabolic substrates.

Ecology

Most species of the archaeon are isolated from anaerobic high-rate wastewater bioreactors or solfataric fields. For example, M. tationis was isolated from a solfataric field on Mount Tatio in the Atacama desert in northern Chile.

References

  1. ^ See the NCBI webpage on Methanofollis. Data extracted from the "NCBI taxonomy resources". National Center for Biotechnology Information. ftp://ftp.ncbi.nih.gov/pub/taxonomy/. Retrieved 2007-03-19. 

Further reading

Scientific journals

  • Zellner G, Boone DR, Keswani J, Whitman WB, Woese CR, Hagelstein A, Tindall BJ, Stackebrandt E (1999). "Reclassification of Methanogenium tationis and Methanogenium liminatans as Methanofollis tationis gen. nov., comb. nov. and Methanofollis liminatans comb. nov. and description of a new strain of Methanofollis liminatans". Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 49: 247–255. doi:10.1099/00207713-49-1-247. PMID 10028269. 

Scientific books

Scientific databases

External links

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