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Methanogenesis pp 35–80Cite as

Diversity and Taxonomy of Methanogens

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Part of the book series: Chapman & Hall Microbiology Series ((CHMBS))

Abstract

The production of methane is a ubiquitous, defining characteristic of methanogens. The production of methane or any other hydrocarbon as a major catabolic product is unique to this group of microbes, which share many other characteristics that are not common among other microbes. Phylogenetically, methanogens are Archaeobacteria (Woese et al., 1978), a group of microbes that are distinguished from true bacteria by a number of characteristics, including the possession of membrane lipids composed of isoprenoids ether-linked to glycerol or other carbohydrates (De Rosa and Gambacorta, 1988; Jones et al., 1987; Langworthy, 1985), a lack of peptidoglycan containing muramic acid (Kandier and Hippe, 1977), and distinctive ribosomal RNA sequences (Balch et al., 1979; Woese, 1987). This group also includes some extreme halophiles and some extremely thermophilic, sulfur-dependent microbes (Woese, 1987) and is phylogenetically distinct from eukaryotes and true bacteria (Figure 1.1).

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  1. David R. Boone
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  2. William B. Whitman
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  3. Pierre Rouvière
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  1. Department of Anaerobic Microbiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0305, USA

    James G. Ferry

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Boone, D.R., Whitman, W.B., Rouvière, P. (1993). Diversity and Taxonomy of Methanogens. In: Ferry, J.G. (eds) Methanogenesis. Chapman & Hall Microbiology Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2391-8_2

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