Methanogenic archaea use a bacteria-like methyltransferase system to demethoxylate aromatic compounds.

ABSTRACT: Methane-generating archaea drive the final step in anaerobic organic compound mineralization and dictate the carbon flow of Earth's diverse anoxic ecosystems in the absence of inorganic electron acceptors. Although such Archaea were presumed to be restricted to life on simple compounds like hydrogen (H₂), acetate or methanol, an archaeon, Methermicoccus shengliensis, was recently found to convert methoxylated aromatic compounds to methane. Methoxylated aromatic compounds are important components of lignin and coal, and are present in most subsurface sediments. Despite the novelty of such a methoxydotrophic archaeon its metabolism has not yet been explored. In this study, transcriptomics and proteomics reveal that under methoxydotrophic growth M. shengliensis expresses an O-demet

SUBMITTER: Kurth JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8630106 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature