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Anaerobic Methane Oxidizers

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Microbial Communities Utilizing Hydrocarbons and Lipids: Members, Metagenomics and Ecophysiology

Part of the book series: Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology ((HHLM))

Abstract

The anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) with sulfate as the final electron acceptor according to the net reaction CH4 + SO42− → HCO3− + HS− + H2O is the major sink of methane in the ocean floor and hence a significant process in the marine methane budget and the global carbon cycle. Since its discovery, much has been learned about the distribution of the AOM process, its activity in different settings, and connections to other metabolic reactions in the seafloor. AOM is performed by consortia of anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea (ANME) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). Since all known ANME and most of their partner bacteria have so far resisted isolation, the physiology of both organisms has been largely inferred from culture-independent approaches on natural enrichments or enrichment cultures. All known ANME are related to methanogenic Euryarchaeota, and as such they reverse the methanogenesis pathway to activate and completely oxidize methane. The reducing equivalents are shuttled to the partner bacteria, which use them for sulfate reduction. Recently, evidence has been found for ANME that can use nitrate or iron as electron acceptors. The exact mechanisms for the required exchange of reducing equivalents in AOM and their genetic codes are yet poorly understood, but recently discovered accumulations of cytochromes and nanowire connections in the intercellular space of the consortia suggest direct electron transfer between both partners.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany

    K. Knittel, G. Wegener & A. Boetius

  2. MARUM, Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, Bremen, Germany

    G. Wegener & A. Boetius

  3. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

    A. Boetius

Authors
  1. K. Knittel
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  2. G. Wegener
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  3. A. Boetius
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to K. Knittel or A. Boetius .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Essex, School of Biological Sciences University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, UK

    Terry J. McGenity

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Knittel, K., Wegener, G., Boetius, A. (2018). Anaerobic Methane Oxidizers. In: McGenity, T. (eds) Microbial Communities Utilizing Hydrocarbons and Lipids: Members, Metagenomics and Ecophysiology . Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60063-5_7-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60063-5_7-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60063-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60063-5

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