School of Biological Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
Microbiology (Reading). 2020 Oct;166(10):894-908. doi: 10.1099/mic.0.000977.
Methane-oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs) play a vital role in reducing atmospheric methane emissions, and hence mitigating their potent global warming effects. A significant proportion of the methane released is thermogenic natural gas, containing associated short-chain alkanes as well as methane. It was one hundred years following the description of methanotrophs that facultative strains were discovered and validly described. These can use some multi-carbon compounds in addition to methane, often small organic acids, such as acetate, or ethanol, although strains can also use short-chain alkanes, presumably deriving a competitive advantage from this metabolic versatility. Here, we review the diversity and molecular ecology of facultative methanotrophs. We discuss the genetic potential of the known strains and outline the consequent benefits they may obtain. Finally, we review the biotechnological promise of these fascinating microbes.
产甲烷菌（甲烷营养菌）在减少大气甲烷排放方面发挥着重要作用，因此可以减轻其强大的全球变暖效应。释放的甲烷中有很大一部分是热成因天然气，其中含有相关的短链烷烃以及甲烷。在描述产甲烷菌一百年后，人们发现并有效地描述了兼性菌株。这些菌株除了甲烷之外还可以使用一些多碳化合物，通常是小有机酸，如乙酸盐或乙醇，尽管有些菌株也可以使用短链烷烃，大概是因为这种代谢多功能性带来了竞争优势。在这里，我们回顾了兼性甲烷营养菌的多样性和分子生态学。我们讨论了已知菌株的遗传潜力，并概述了它们可能获得的相应益处。最后，我们回顾了这些迷人微生物的生物技术前景。
