Open AccessDeconstructing Methanosarcina acetivorans into an acetogenic archaeon
Author(s) -
Christian Schöne,
Anja Poehlein,
Nico Jehmlich,
Norman Adlung,
Rolf Daniel,
Martin von Bergen,
Silvan Scheller,
Michael Rother
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2113853119
Subject(s) - methanogenesis , methanogen , acetogenesis , archaea , methanosarcina , methanomicrobiales , biochemistry , carbon fixation , biology , crenarchaeota , hydrogenase , chemistry , methane , ecology , catalysis , photosynthesis , gene
Significance The reductive acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) pathway is the only carbon fixation pathway that can also be used for energy conservation like it is known for acetogenic bacteria. In methanogenic archaea, this pathway is extended with one route toward acetyl-CoA formation for anabolism and another route toward methane formation for catabolism. Which of these traits is ancestral in evolution has not been resolved. By diverging virtually all substrate carbon from methanogenesis to flow through acetyl-CoA,Methanosarcina acetivorans can be converted to an acetogenic organism. Being able to deconstruct methanogenic into the seemingly simpler acetogenic energy metabolism provides compelling evidence that methanogens are not nearly as metabolically limited as previously thought and suggests that methanogenesis might have evolved from the acetyl-CoA pathway.