''Methanofollis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

archaea Archaea ( ) is a Domain (biology), domain of organisms. Traditionally, Archaea only included its Prokaryote, prokaryotic members, but this has since been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are known to have evolved from archaea. Even thou ...

n in the family Methanomicrobiaceae.

Description and significance

''Methanofollis'' ("a methane-producing bag") is a non-motile,

Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelope consists ...

, obligately anaerobic, mesophilic archaeon that produces methane. It grows between the temperatures 20–45 °C (optimum 34–40 °C), and at the pH of around 7.

Genome structure

The genome of the archaeon has not yet sequenced. The G + C content of the DNA is determined to be 60.0%.

Cell structure and metabolism

The cells of ''Methanofollis'' are highly irregular cocci, with diameter of 1.25–2.0 μm. The major polar lipids are phospholipids, glycolipids, and phosphoglycolipids. It utilizes H₂/CO₂, formate, 2-propanol/CO₂, and 2-butanol/CO₂ for growth and methanogenesis. No growth has been observed on

acetate An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic, or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called ...

trimethylamine Trimethylamine (TMA) is an organic compound with the formula N(CH3)3. It is a trimethylated derivative of ammonia. TMA is widely used in industry. At higher concentrations it has an ammonia-like odor, and can cause necrosis of mucous membranes ...

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

2-propanol Isopropyl alcohol (IUPAC name propan-2-ol and also called isopropanol or 2-propanol) is a colorless, flammable, organic compound with a pungent alcoholic odor. Isopropyl alcohol, an organic polar molecule, is miscible in water, ethanol, an ...

isobutanol Isobutanol (IUPAC nomenclature: 2-methylpropan-1-ol) is an organic compound with the formula (CH3)2CHCH2OH (sometimes represented as ''i''-BuOH). This colorless, flammable liquid with a characteristic smell is mainly used as a solvent either dir ...

, or 2-butanol as catabolic substrates.

Ecology

Most species of the archaeon are isolated from anaerobic high-rate wastewater bioreactors or solfataric fields. For example, ''M. tationis'' was isolated from a solfataric field on Mount Tatio in the Atacama desert in northern Chile.

Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the

List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) is an online database that maintains information on the naming and taxonomy of prokaryotes, following the taxonomy requirements and rulings of the International Code of Nomenclatu ...

(LPSN) and

National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The NCBI is lo ...

(NCBI).

References

External links

''Methanofollis'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Archaea genera Euryarchaeota {{Euryarchaeota-stub