Abstract
Two new methane-oxidizing bacteria have been isolated from seawater samples from Plymouth Sound. These marine methanotrophs have an obligate requirement for NaCl and exhibit many properties of typical Type I methanotrophs previously isolated from freshwater environments. However, they are different from all other methanotrophs thus far described in that they failed to grow on all solid media tested. The nitrogen metabolism of both strains was investigated. They were not N2-fixers nor would they use ammonia as nitrogen source. They appeared to utilize the glutamate dehydrogenase pathway for the assimilation of ammonia under all growth conditions tested.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anthony C (1982) The biochemistry of methylotrophs. Academic Press, London New York
Burrows KJ, Cornish A, Scott D, Higgins IJ (1984) Substrate specificities of the soluble and particulate methane monooxygenases of Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b. J Gen Microbiol 130: 3327–3333
cicerone RJ, Oremland RS (1988) Biogeochemical aspects of atmospheric methane. Global Biogeochem Cycles 2:299–327
Dalton H, Leak DJ (1985) Methane oxidation by microorganisms. In: Poole RK, Dow CS (eds) Microbial gas metabolism: mechanistic metabolic and biotechnological aspects. Academic Press, London, pp 173–200
Davies SL, Whittenbury R (1970) Fine structure of methane and other hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria. J Gen Microbiol 61:227–232
Day DJ, Anthony C (1990) Methanol dehydrogenase from Methylobacterium extorquents AM1. In: Lidstrom ME (ed) Hydrocarbons and methylotrophy. Academic Press, San Diego (Methods in enzymology, vol. 188, pp 210–215)
Funk HB, Krulwich TA (1964) Preparation of clear silica gels that can be streaked. J Bacteriol 88:1200–1201
Gardener S, Jones GJ (1984) A new solidifying agent for culture media which liquifies on cooling. J Gen Microbiol 130:731–733
Gest H, Dits MW, Faringer JL (1983) Characterization of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides Cordata/81–1. FEMS Microbiol Lett 17:321–325
Goodwin PM (1990) Assay of assimilatory enzymes in crude extracts of serine pathway methylotrophs. In: Lidstrom ME (ed) Hydrocarbons and methylotrophy. Academic Press. San Diego (Methods in enzymology, vol. 188, pp 361–364)
Guerrero MG, Vega JM, Leadbetter E, Losada M (1973) Preparation and characterisation of a soluble nitrate reductase from Azotobacter chroococcum. Arch Mikrobiol 91:287–304
Heyer J, Malashenko Yu, Berger U, Budkova E (1984) Verbreitung methanotropher Bakterien. Z Allg Mikrobiol 24:725–744
Lidstrom ME (1988) Isolation and characterization of marine methylotrophs. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 54:189–199
Lidstrom ME (1990) Serine hydroxymethyltransferases from Methylobacterium organophilum XX. In: Lidstrom ME (ed) Hydrocarbons and methylotrophy. Academic Press, San Diego (Methods in enzymology, vol. 188, pp 365–372)
Murrell JC, Dalton H (1983a) Purification and properties of glutamine synthetase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath). J Gen Microbiol 129:1187–1196
Murrell JC, Dalton H (1983b) Ammonia assimilation in Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) and other obligate methanotrophs. J Gen Microbiol 129:1197–1206
Murrell JC, Dalton H (1983c) Nitrogen fixation in obligate methanotrophs. J Gen Microbiol 129:3481–3486
Oakley CJ, Murrell JC (1988) nifH genes in the obligate methane oxidizing bacteria. FEMS Microbiol Lett 49:53–57
Owens NJP, Woodward EMS, Aiken J, Rees AP (1990) Primary production and nitrogen assimilation in the North Sea. Neth J Sea Res 25:143–154
Pilkington SJ, Dalton H (1990) Soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus Bath. In: Lidstrom ME (ed) Hydrocarbons and methylotrophy. Academic Press, San Diego (Methods in enzymology, vol. 188, pp 181–190)
Sieburth J McN, Johnson PW, Eberhardt MA, Sieracki ME, Lidstrom M, Laux D (1987) The first methane-oxidizing bacterium from the upper mixing layer of the deep ocean: Methylomonas pelagica sp. nov. Curr Microbiol 14:285–293
Stainthorpe AC, Murrell JC, Salmond GPC, Dalton H, Lees V (1989) Molecular analysis of methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath). Arch Microbiol 152:154–159
Stainthorpe AC, Salmond GPC, Dalton H, Murrell JC (1990) Screening of obligate methanotrophs for soluble methane monooxygenase genes. FEMS Microbiol Lett 70:211–216
Stanley SH, Dalton H (1982) Role of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase in Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath). J Gen Microbiol 128:2927–2935
Ward BB, Kilpatrick KA, Novelli PC, Scranton MJ (1987) Methane oxidation and methane fluxes in the ocean surface layer and deep anoxic waters. Nature 327:226–229
Whittenbury R, Dalton H (1981) The methylotrophic bacteria. In: Starr MP, Stolp H, Truper HG, Balows A, Schlegel HG (eds) The prokaryotes. A handbook on habitats, isolation and identification of bacteria. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 894–902
Whittenbury R, Phillips KC, Wilkinson JF (1970) Enrichment, isolation and some properties of methane-utilizing bacteria. J Gen Microbiol 61:205–218
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lees, V., Owens, N.J.P. & Murrell, J.C. Nitrogen metabolism in marine methanotrophs. Arch. Microbiol. 157, 60–65 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00245336
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00245336