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Methanogenic Archaea in Humans and Other Vertebrates

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(Endo)symbiotic Methanogenic Archaea

Part of the book series: Microbiology Monographs ((MICROMONO,volume 19))

Abstract

The presence of methane in biological samples had been detected many years ago and it was believed that the gas could be either of chemical or microbial origin. Detection of methane-producing microbes (methanogensmethanogens) in samples from animals intensified since the last part of the previous century, going from cultural-physiological characterization and isolation of microbes to further characterization of the isolates at the biochemical, immunological, molecular biologic-genetic, and phylogenetic levels. In this Chapter, we report about methanogens identified at least at the genus level in samples from humans and other vertebrates, focusing on findings at the species levels. The data show that although relatively few vertebrate species have been examined, methanogens are most likely widespread among them and quite diverse if examined at the subspecies level subspecies level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, and IMET, University of Maryland, Columbus Center, 701 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD, 21202, USA

    Everly Conway de Macario & Alberto J. L. Macario

Authors
  1. Everly Conway de Macario
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  2. Alberto J. L. Macario
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Everly Conway de Macario .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, University of Nijmegen, POB 9010, Nijmegen, 6500 GL, Netherlands

    Johannes H.P. Hackstein

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de Macario, E.C., Macario, A.J.L. (2010). Methanogenic Archaea in Humans and Other Vertebrates. In: Hackstein, J. (eds) (Endo)symbiotic Methanogenic Archaea. Microbiology Monographs, vol 19. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13615-3_7

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