Widespread soil bacterium that oxidizes atmospheric methane

Increasing atmospheric methane concentrations contribute significantly to global warming. The only known biological sink for atmospheric methane is oxidation by methane oxidizing bacteria (MOB). Due to the lack of pure cultures, the physiology and metabolic potential of MOB that oxidize atmospheric...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Tveit, Alexander Tøsdal, Hestnes, Anne Grethe, Robinson, Serina Lee, Schintlmeister, Arno, Dedysh, Svetlana N, Jehmlich, Nico, Bergen, Martin von, Herbold, Craig, Wagner, Michael, Richter, Andreas, Svenning, Mette Marianne
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2019
Subjects:
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400
VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400
Arctic
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17741
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1817812116
Description
Summary:Increasing atmospheric methane concentrations contribute significantly to global warming. The only known biological sink for atmospheric methane is oxidation by methane oxidizing bacteria (MOB). Due to the lack of pure cultures, the physiology and metabolic potential of MOB that oxidize atmospheric methane remains a mystery. Here, we report on isolation and characterization of a MOB that can grow on air and utilizes methane at its atmospheric trace concentration as a carbon and energy source. Furthermore, this strain has the potential to utilize five additional atmospheric gases, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen to supply its metabolism. This metabolic versatility might be the key to life on air and this discovery is essential for studying the biological methane sink.

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