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Cultivation of Methanotrophs

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Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols

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Abstract

Aerobic methanotrophs are metabolically unique bacteria that are able to utilize methane as a sole source of energy. The selective approach to enrich methanotrophs therefore employs mineral media with methane added as a growth substrate. The composition of a mineral medium and the incubation conditions strongly determine the outcome of the enrichment procedure. Adjusting medium composition to mirror the conditions of a natural habitat is a key to isolating environmentally relevant organisms. Methane-oxidizing enrichments typically contain many non-methanotrophic bacteria growing on by-products of methanotrophs or on medium contaminants, so obtaining isolated cultures is a time-consuming process that involves repeated series of plating on solid media, dilution–extinction in liquid media, and other purification procedures. Purity tests represent an important component of the isolation procedure. Final steps include registration of growth dynamics on methane and molecular identification of isolates.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospect 60-Letya Octyabrya 7/2, Moscow, 117312, Russia

    Svetlana N. Dedysh

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Peter F. Dunfield

Authors
  1. Svetlana N. Dedysh
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  2. Peter F. Dunfield
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Svetlana N. Dedysh .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom

    Terry J. McGenity

  2. Institute of Microbiology, Technical University Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Kenneth N. Timmis

  3. Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands and Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, UIB-CSIC), Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Balbina Nogales

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Dedysh, S.N., Dunfield, P.F. (2014). Cultivation of Methanotrophs. In: McGenity, T., Timmis, K., Nogales , B. (eds) Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2014_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2014_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-45178-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-45179-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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