Michael Kanellos
Methane eating microorganisms identified in the sea May 16, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Those little guys pictured in the photo play a big role in keeping greenhouse emissions down, and their importance could increase in the coming years.
Scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig and Caltech have identified a set of microorganisms that oxidize methane that seeps from reservoirs deep in the ocean. They capture about 80 percent of it.
Methane is far worse than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Thus, these organisms are already helping to keep down greenhouse gas levels. The scientists, however, have also identified the metabolic pathways they use. Potentially, this could be used to reduce methane that gets generated from cow manure and other terrestrial sources, assuming the metabolic pathway could be artificially replicated. The same metabolic pathways may also help capture nitrogen. (Thanks to Science Daily for pointing this one out.)
The breakthrough was possible because the researchers studied the organisms in their natural habitat. They placed iron particles in the sea bed and then fished out the microorganisms with a magnet. That gave them the ability to better understand the interaction between Archaea, in red, and sulfate reducing bacteria (green). Genome sequencing then allowed the scientists to understand how the process and interaction between the organisms work. Growing bugs like this in the lab and then trying to figure out how they interact isn’t easy.
Microbes are big business these days. Several companies, such as Mascoma, are harnessing metabolic pathways to produce fuel while others, such as AgraQuest, are selling biopesticides, i.e. concoctions of microbes that kill fungi and other pests. Go bugs!
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