Skip to main content
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1988 Mar;54(3):768–771. doi: 10.1128/aem.54.3.768-771.1988

Isolation and characterization of "Methanosphaera cuniculi" sp. nov.

B Biavati 1, M Vasta 1, J G Ferry 1
PMCID: PMC202538  PMID: 3132100

Abstract

A nonmotile, gram-positive, spherical organism was isolated from the intestinal tracts of rabbits. Both hydrogen and methanol were required for growth. No methane was produced from hydrogen-carbon dioxide, formate, acetate, methylamines, ethanol, or isopropanol. The optimum pH was 6.8, and the optimum temperature was 35 to 40 degrees C. The DNA G+C content is 23 mol%. The pseudomurein cell wall contained serine. These characteristics and the immunological fingerprinting results are consistent with its placement in the genus Methanosphaera as a new species.

Full text

PDF
771

Images in this article

Selected References

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

  1. Balch W. E., Fox G. E., Magrum L. J., Woese C. R., Wolfe R. S. Methanogens: reevaluation of a unique biological group. Microbiol Rev. 1979 Jun;43(2):260–296. doi: 10.1128/mr.43.2.260-296.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Conway de Macario E., Macario A. J., Wolin M. J. Specific antisera and immunological procedures for characterization of methanogenic bacteria. J Bacteriol. 1982 Jan;149(1):320–328. doi: 10.1128/jb.149.1.320-328.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. MARMUR J., DOTY P. Determination of the base composition of deoxyribonucleic acid from its thermal denaturation temperature. J Mol Biol. 1962 Jul;5:109–118. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(62)80066-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Miller T. L., Wolin M. J. A serum bottle modification of the Hungate technique for cultivating obligate anaerobes. Appl Microbiol. 1974 May;27(5):985–987. doi: 10.1128/am.27.5.985-987.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Miller T. L., Wolin M. J. Enumeration of Methanobrevibacter smithii in human feces. Arch Microbiol. 1982 Feb;131(1):14–18. doi: 10.1007/BF00451492. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Miller T. L., Wolin M. J. Methanosphaera stadtmaniae gen. nov., sp. nov.: a species that forms methane by reducing methanol with hydrogen. Arch Microbiol. 1985 Mar;141(2):116–122. doi: 10.1007/BF00423270. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Moore W. E., Hash D. E., Holdeman L. V., Cato E. P. Polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis of soluble proteins for studies of bacterial floras. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1980 Apr;39(4):900–907. doi: 10.1128/aem.39.4.900-907.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Nelson M. J., Ferry J. G. Carbon monoxide-dependent methyl coenzyme M methylreductase in acetotrophic Methosarcina spp. J Bacteriol. 1984 Nov;160(2):526–532. doi: 10.1128/jb.160.2.526-532.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES