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Enzymology of the fermentation of acetate to methane by Methanosarcina thermophila
Author(s) -
Ferry James G.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
biofactors
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.204
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1872-8081
pISSN - 0951-6433
DOI - 10.1002/biof.5520060104
Subject(s) - methanosarcina , archaea , enzyme , thermophile , fermentation , biochemistry , cofactor , acetate kinase , biology , chemistry , euryarchaeota , methyl group , gene , organic chemistry , group (periodic table) , escherichia coli
Biologically‐produced CH 4 derives from either the reduction of CO 2 or the methyl group of acetate by two separate pathways present in anaerobic microbes from the Archaea domain. Elucidation of the pathway for CO 2 reduction to CH 4 , the first to be investigated, has yielded several novel enzymes and cofactors. Most of the CH 4 produced in nature derives from the methyl group of acetate. Methanosarcina thermophila is a moderate thermophile which ferments acetate by reducing the methyl group to CH 4 with electrons derived from oxidation of the carbonyl group to CO 2 . The pathway in M. thermophila is now understood on a biochemical and genetic level comparable to understanding of the CO 2 ‐reducing pathway. Enzymes have been purified and characterized. The genes encoding these enzymes have been cloned, sequenced, transcriptionally mapped, and their regulation defined on a molecular level. This review emphasizes recent developments concerning the enzymes which are unique to the acetate fermentation pathway in M. thermophila .