biostudies-literatureUnknown14Khairunisa BHProduction of methane by methanogenic archaea, or methanogens, in the rumen of ruminants is a thermodynamic necessity for microbial conversion of feed to volatile fatty acids, which are essential nutrients for the animals. On the other hand, methane is a greenhouse gas and its production causes energy loss for the animal. Accordingly, there are ongoing efforts toward developing effective strategies for mitigating methane emissions from ruminant livestock that require a detailed understanding of the diversity and ecophysiology of rumen methanogens. Rumen methanogens evolved from free-living autotrophic ancestors through genome streamlining involving gene loss and acquisition. The process yielded an oligotrophic lifestyle, and metabolically efficient and ecologically adapted descendants. ThiFrontiers in microbiology1296008https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10658910biostudies-literatureEvolving understanding of rumen methanogen ecophysiology.PMC10658910Heryakusuma CKhairunisa BHSusanti DIke KMukhopadhyay BfalseEvolving understanding of rumen methanogen ecophysiology.Production of methane by methanogenic archaea, or methanogens, in the rumen of ruminants is a thermodynamic necessity for microbial conversion of feed to volatile fatty acids, which are essential nutrients for the animals. On the other hand, methane is a greenhouse gas and its production causes energy loss for the animal. Accordingly, there are ongoing efforts toward developing effective strategies for mitigating methane emissions from ruminant livestock that require a detailed understanding of the diversity and ecophysiology of rumen methanogens. Rumen methanogens evolved from free-living autotrophic ancestors through genome streamlining involving gene loss and acquisition. The process yielded an oligotrophic lifestyle, and metabolically efficient and ecologically adapted descendants. Thi2023-01-01T00:00:00Z20232026-07-15T00:22:34.87Z2025-02-19T01:51:35.062ZS-EPMC106589103802908310.3389/fmicb.2023.1296008