Genome sequencing and analysis of a psychrotrophic methanogen Methanosarcina sp. nov. MSH10X1 cultured from methane hydrate deposits of Krishna Godavari Basin of India.

Methanosarcina sp. strain MSH10X1, a psychrotrophic methanogen, was isolated from sub-seafloor methane hydrate deposits of Krishna Godavari Basin on India's east coast. The strain could grow from 5 to 40 °C following all three i.e. methylotrophic, acetoclastic, and hydrogenotrophic modes of methanogenesis utilizing different substrates like methanol, trimethylamine, H/CO (80/20), acetate, valerate, isobutyrate, isopropanol, and isobutanol. The genome sequencing and analysis of this strain revealed a circular chromosome of 3,557,383 bp length having 42.47 mol% G + C content, which consisted of 3110 coding genes, 58 tRNA genes, and 3 rRNA operons. The KEGG analysis highlighted the presence of genes responsible for all three modes of methanogenesis. The presence of genes like mtaB, mtaC, and mttB in the genome provided evidence for possible adaptation of strain MSH10X1 in the deep sea's low-temperature conditions.