The composition of the methanogenic archaeal community in the foregut contents of Tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii) was studied using 16S rRNA and methyl coenzyme reductase subunit A (mcrA) gene clone libraries. Methanogens belonging to the Methanobacteriales and a well-supported cluster of uncultivated archaeon sequences previously observed in the ovine and bovine rumens were found. Methanog...

The ever increasing cost of fossil fuels and its attendant pollution menace has provided the pedigree to consider alternative sources of energy. An investigation was launched into the design and construction of an Anaerobic Digester system from locally available raw materials using local technology and the production of biogas from food wastes and Human excreta generated within a University cam...

The membrane lipid of a new deep-sea hydrothermal vent methanogen, Methanococcus jannaschii, has been structurally characterized. The hydrolyzed polar lipid of this archaebacterium is primarily (95 percent) a macrocyclic glycerol diether, which has not been described previously. The structure was elucidated by a combination of chemical and spectroscopic techniques. An initial survey of selected...

The methanogenic archaebacterium Methanospirillum hungatei contains two unusual phosphoglycolipids that account for 64 percent of the total cellular lipids. These lipids are derivatives of the dibiphytanyl diglycerol tetraether, previously identified in methanogens. One of the free hydroxyls of this tetraether is esterified with glycerophosphoric acid, and the other is linked glycosidically to ...

Syntrophy among Archaea and Bacteria facilitates the anaerobic degradation of organic compounds to CH4 and CO2. Particularly during aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon mineralization, as in the case of crude oil reservoirs and petroleum-contaminated sediments, metabolic interactions between obligate mutualistic microbial partners are of central importance. Using micromanipulation combined with s...

AIMS Evaluation of the composition, distribution and activities of syntrophic bacteria and methanogens in soils from eutrophic and low nutrient regions of a freshwater marsh, and to compare these results with those obtained from a similar study in the Florida Everglades. METHODS AND RESULTS Culture dependent and independent approaches were employed to study consortia of syntrophs and methanog...