Skip to main content
PMC home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1997 Jul;63(7):2952–2956. doi: 10.1128/aem.63.7.2952-2956.1997

Inhibition of Methane Oxidation by Methylococcus capsulatus with Hydrochlorofluorocarbons and Fluorinated Methanes

L J Matheson, L L Jahnke, R S Oremland
PMCID: PMC1389217  PMID: 16535662

Abstract

The inhibition of methane oxidation by cell suspensions of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) exposed to hydrochlorofluorocarbon 21 (HCFC-21; difluorochloromethane [CHF(inf2)Cl]), HCFC-22 (fluorodichloromethane [CHFCl(inf2)]), and various fluorinated methanes was investigated. HCFC-21 inhibited methane oxidation to a greater extent than HCFC-22, for both the particulate and soluble methane monooxygenases. Among the fluorinated methanes, both methyl fluoride (CH(inf3)F) and difluoromethane (CH(inf2)F(inf2)) were inhibitory while fluoroform (CHF(inf3)) and carbon tetrafluoride (CF(inf4)) were not. The inhibition of methane oxidation by HCFC-21 and HCFC-22 was irreversible, while that by methyl fluoride was reversible. The HCFCs also proved inhibitory to methanol dehydrogenase, which suggests that they disrupt other aspects of C(inf1) catabolism in addition to methane monooxygenase activity.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (169.0 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alvarez-Cohen L., McCarty P. L., Boulygina E., Hanson R. S., Brusseau G. A., Tsien H. C. Characterization of a methane-utilizing bacterium from a bacterial consortium that rapidly degrades trichloroethylene and chloroform. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1992 Jun;58(6):1886–1893. doi: 10.1128/aem.58.6.1886-1893.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Alvarez-Cohen L., McCarty P. L. Product toxicity and cometabolic competitive inhibition modeling of chloroform and trichloroethylene transformation by methanotrophic resting cells. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1991 Apr;57(4):1031–1037. doi: 10.1128/aem.57.4.1031-1037.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Broholm Kim, Jensen Bjørn K., Christensen Thomas H., Olsen Lajla. Toxicity of 1,1,1-Trichloroethane and Trichloroethene on a Mixed Culture of Methane-Oxidizing Bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990 Aug;56(8):2488–2493. doi: 10.1128/aem.56.8.2488-2493.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brusseau G. A., Tsien H. C., Hanson R. S., Wackett L. P. Optimization of trichloroethylene oxidation by methanotrophs and the use of a colorimetric assay to detect soluble methane monooxygenase activity. Biodegradation. 1990;1(1):19–29. doi: 10.1007/BF00117048. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bédard C., Knowles R. Physiology, biochemistry, and specific inhibitors of CH4, NH4+, and CO oxidation by methanotrophs and nitrifiers. Microbiol Rev. 1989 Mar;53(1):68–84. doi: 10.1128/mr.53.1.68-84.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Colby J., Stirling D. I., Dalton H. The soluble methane mono-oxygenase of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath). Its ability to oxygenate n-alkanes, n-alkenes, ethers, and alicyclic, aromatic and heterocyclic compounds. Biochem J. 1977 Aug 1;165(2):395–402. doi: 10.1042/bj1650395. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Culbertson C. W., Zehnder A. J., Oremland R. S. Anaerobic oxidation of acetylene by estuarine sediments and enrichment cultures. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Feb;41(2):396–403. doi: 10.1128/aem.41.2.396-403.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Flett R. J., Hamilton R. D., Campbell N. E. Aquatic acetylene-reduction techniques: solutions to several problems. Can J Microbiol. 1976 Jan;22(1):43–51. doi: 10.1139/m76-006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hanson R. S., Hanson T. E. Methanotrophic bacteria. Microbiol Rev. 1996 Jun;60(2):439–471. doi: 10.1128/mr.60.2.439-471.1996. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. King G. M. In Situ Analyses of Methane Oxidation Associated with the Roots and Rhizomes of a Bur Reed, Sparganium eurycarpum, in a Maine Wetland. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1996 Dec;62(12):4548–4555. doi: 10.1128/aem.62.12.4548-4555.1996. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Oldenhuis R., Oedzes J. Y., van der Waarde J. J., Janssen D. B. Kinetics of chlorinated hydrocarbon degradation by Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b and toxicity of trichloroethylene. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1991 Jan;57(1):7–14. doi: 10.1128/aem.57.1.7-14.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Oremland R. S., Culbertson C. W. Evaluation of methyl fluoride and dimethyl ether as inhibitors of aerobic methane oxidation. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1992 Sep;58(9):2983–2992. doi: 10.1128/aem.58.9.2983-2992.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Oremland R. S., Lonergan D. J., Culbertson C. W., Lovley D. R. Microbial degradation of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (CHCl2F and CHCl2CF3) in soils and sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1996 May;62(5):1818–1821. doi: 10.1128/aem.62.5.1818-1821.1996. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Oremland R. S., Miller L. G., Culbertson C. W., Connell T. L., Jahnke L. Degradation of methyl bromide by methanotrophic bacteria in cell suspensions and soils. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994 Oct;60(10):3640–3646. doi: 10.1128/aem.60.10.3640-3646.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Oremland R. S., Polcin S. Methanogenesis and sulfate reduction: competitive and noncompetitive substrates in estuarine sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1982 Dec;44(6):1270–1276. doi: 10.1128/aem.44.6.1270-1276.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Summons R. E., Jahnke L. L., Roksandic Z. Carbon isotopic fractionation in lipids from methanotrophic bacteria: relevance for interpretation of the geochemical record of biomarkers. Geochim Cosmochim Acta. 1994;58(13):2853–2863. doi: 10.1016/0016-7037(94)90119-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES