Rother Michael, Sattler Christian, Stock Tilmann
Institut fu¨ r Molekulare Biowissenschaften, Molekulare Mikrobiologie & Bioenergetik, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universita¨t, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Methods Enzymol. 2011;494:91-110. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-385112-3.00005-6.
Methanogenic archaea are a unique group of strictly anaerobic microorganisms characterized by their ability, and dependence, to convert simple C1 and C2 compounds to methane for growth. The major models for studying the biology of methanogens are members of the Methanococcus and Methanosarcina species. Recent development of sophisticated tools for molecular analysis and for genetic manipulation allows investigating not only their metabolism but also their cell cycle, and their interaction with the environment in great detail. One aspect of such analyses is assessment and dissection of methanoarchaeal gene regulation, for which, at present, only a handful of cases have been investigated thoroughly, partly due to the great methodological effort required. However, it becomes more and more evident that many new regulatory paradigms can be unraveled in this unique archaeal group. Here, we report both molecular and physiological/genetic methods to assess gene regulation in Methanococcus maripaludis and Methanosarcina acetivorans, which should, however, be applicable for other methanogens as well.
产甲烷古菌是一类独特的严格厌氧微生物，其特点是能够并依赖于将简单的C1和C2化合物转化为甲烷以实现生长。用于研究产甲烷菌生物学的主要模式生物是甲烷球菌属和甲烷八叠球菌属的成员。用于分子分析和基因操作的精密工具的最新发展，使得不仅能够详细研究它们的代谢，还能深入研究它们的细胞周期以及与环境的相互作用。此类分析的一个方面是对甲烷古菌基因调控的评估和剖析，目前，仅有少数案例得到了深入研究，部分原因是所需的方法学工作量巨大。然而，越来越明显的是，在这个独特的古菌群体中可以揭示出许多新的调控模式。在此，我们报告了评估马氏甲烷球菌和嗜乙酸甲烷八叠球菌基因调控的分子方法和生理/遗传方法，不过这些方法应该也适用于其他产甲烷菌。
