Methanosaeta

Methanosaeta is a genus of archaeans in the family Methanosaetaceae. Like other species in this family, those of Methanosaeta metabolize acetate as their sole source of energy. The genus contains two species, Methanosaeta concilii, which is the type species (type strain GP6) and Methanosaeta thermophila. For a time, some scientists believed there to be a third species, Methanosaeta soehngenii, but because it has not been described from a pure culture, it is now called Methanothrix soehngenii.

Phylogeny

Importance

Methanosaeta species are some of the most active methanogens in wetlands, producing an extensive amount of methane on Earth. The presence of methane is both good and bad. On one hand, methane is 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide in retaining heat—thus contributing to global warming at an increasing rate. On the other hand, methane can be used as bioenergy in an effort to move from large-scale fossil fuel usage to large-scale bioenergy usage, reducing carbon emissions. Scientists at UMass Amherst discovered that Methanosaeta have the ability to reduce carbon dioxide to methane through electrical connections with other microorganisms.

See also

• List of Archaea genera

Further reading

Scientific journals

• Lee, J.; Hwang, B.; Koo, T.; Shin, S. G.; Kim, W.; Hwang, S. (2014). "Temporal variation in methanogen communities of four different full-scale anaerobic digesters treating food waste-recycling wastewater". Bioresource Technology. 168: 59–63. Bibcode:. doi:. PMID .
• Patel, G. B.; Sprott, G. D. (1990). International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. 40: 79–82. doi:.
• Buchanan, R. E. (1960). . International Bulletin of Bacteriological Nomenclature and Taxonomy. 10: 16–22. doi:.

Scientific books

• Boone DR; Whitman WB; Koga Y (2001). "Family II. Methanosaetaceae fam. nov.". In DR Boone; RW Castenholz (eds.). (2nd ed.). New York: Springer Verlag. ISBN 978-0-387-98771-2.