| Methanosarcina acetivorans | |
|---|---|
| |
| Phase-contrast photo of Methanosarcina acetivorans, type strain C2AT | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Archaea |
| Kingdom: | Euryarchaeota |
| Class: | Methanomicrobia |
| Order: | Methanosarcinales |
| Family: | Methanosarcinaceae |
| Genus: | Methanosarcina |
| Species: | M. acetivorans
|
| Binomial name | |
| Methanosarcina acetivorans Sowers et al. 1986
| |
Methanosarcina acetivorans is a versatile methane producing microbe which is found in such diverse environments as oil wells, trash dumps, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and oxygen-depleted sediments beneath kelp beds. Only M. acetivorans and microbes in the genus Methanosarcina use all three known metabolic pathways for methanogenesis.[1] Methanosarcinides, including M. acetivorans, are also the only archaea capable of forming multicellular colonies, and even show cellular differentiation. The genome of M. acetivorans is one of the largest archaeal genomes ever sequenced.[2] Furthermore, one strain of M. acetivorans, M. a. C2A, has been identified to possess an F-type ATPase (unusual for archaea, but common for bacteria, mitochondria and chloroplasts) along with an A-type ATPase.[3]
- ^ Galagan JE; Nusbaum C; Roy A; Endrizzi MG; Macdonald P; FitzHugh W; Calvo S; et al. (2002). "The Genome of M. acetivorans Reveals Extensive Metabolic and Physiological Diversity". Genome Research. 12 (4): 532–42. doi:10.1101/gr.223902. PMC 187521. PMID 11932238.
- ^ http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Methanosarcina Microbewiki: Methanosarcina
- ^ Regina Saum et al.: The F1FO ATP synthase genes in Methanosarcina acetivorans are dispensable for growth and ATP synthesis, in: FEMS Microbiology Letters Vol. 300 Issue 2, November 2009, P. 230–236, DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2009.01785.x