Harnessing a methane-fueled, sediment-free mixed microbial community for utilization of distributed sources of natural gas.

ABSTRACT: Harnessing the metabolic potential of uncultured microbial communities is a compelling opportunity for the biotechnology industry, an approach that would vastly expand the portfolio of usable feedstocks. Methane is particularly promising because it is abundant and energy-rich, yet the most efficient methane-activating metabolic pathways involve mixed communities of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria. These communities oxidize methane at high catabolic efficiency and produce chemically reduced by-products at a comparable rate and in near-stoichiometric proportion to methane consumption. These reduced compounds can be used for feedstock and downstream chemical production, and at the production rates observed in situ they are an appealing, cost-effective prospect.

SUBMITTER: Marlow JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5947824 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature