Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane supports archaea-mediated alkanogenesis
Abstract Microbial formation and oxidation of volatile alkanes in anoxic environments significantly impacts biogeochemical cycles on Earth. The discovery of archaea oxidizing volatile alkanes via deeply branching methyl-coenzyme M reductase variants, dubbed alkyl-CoM reductases (ACR), prompted the h...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53932-9 |
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| author | Song-Can Chen Sheng Chen Niculina Musat Steffen Kümmel Jiaheng Ji Marie Braad Lund Alexis Gilbert Oliver J. Lechtenfeld Hans-Hermann Richnow Florin Musat |
| author_facet | Song-Can Chen Sheng Chen Niculina Musat Steffen Kümmel Jiaheng Ji Marie Braad Lund Alexis Gilbert Oliver J. Lechtenfeld Hans-Hermann Richnow Florin Musat |
| author_sort | Song-Can Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Microbial formation and oxidation of volatile alkanes in anoxic environments significantly impacts biogeochemical cycles on Earth. The discovery of archaea oxidizing volatile alkanes via deeply branching methyl-coenzyme M reductase variants, dubbed alkyl-CoM reductases (ACR), prompted the hypothesis of archaea-catalysed alkane formation in nature (alkanogenesis). A combination of metabolic modelling, anaerobic physiology assays, and isotope labeling of Candidatus Syntrophoarchaeum archaea catalyzing the anaerobic oxidation of butane (AOB) show a back flux of CO2 to butane, demonstrating reversibility of the entire AOB pathway. Back fluxes correlate with thermodynamics and kinetics of the archaeal catabolic system. AOB reversibility supports a biological formation of butane, and generally of higher volatile alkanes, helping to explain the presence of isotopically light alkanes and deeply branching ACR genes in sedimentary basins isolated from gas reservoirs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-38ce0cc4ad7e4031b6d704905ff23961 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-38ce0cc4ad7e4031b6d704905ff239612025-01-12T12:29:33ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-11-0115111510.1038/s41467-024-53932-9Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane supports archaea-mediated alkanogenesisSong-Can Chen0Sheng Chen1Niculina Musat2Steffen Kümmel3Jiaheng Ji4Marie Braad Lund5Alexis Gilbert6Oliver J. Lechtenfeld7Hans-Hermann Richnow8Florin Musat9Division of Microbial Ecology, Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of ViennaResearch Center for Mathematics, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal UniversityDepartment of Biology, Section for Microbiology, Aarhus UniversityDepartment of Technical Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZDepartment of Technical Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZDepartment of Biology, Section for Microbiology, Aarhus UniversityDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZDepartment of Technical Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZDepartment of Biology, Section for Microbiology, Aarhus UniversityAbstract Microbial formation and oxidation of volatile alkanes in anoxic environments significantly impacts biogeochemical cycles on Earth. The discovery of archaea oxidizing volatile alkanes via deeply branching methyl-coenzyme M reductase variants, dubbed alkyl-CoM reductases (ACR), prompted the hypothesis of archaea-catalysed alkane formation in nature (alkanogenesis). A combination of metabolic modelling, anaerobic physiology assays, and isotope labeling of Candidatus Syntrophoarchaeum archaea catalyzing the anaerobic oxidation of butane (AOB) show a back flux of CO2 to butane, demonstrating reversibility of the entire AOB pathway. Back fluxes correlate with thermodynamics and kinetics of the archaeal catabolic system. AOB reversibility supports a biological formation of butane, and generally of higher volatile alkanes, helping to explain the presence of isotopically light alkanes and deeply branching ACR genes in sedimentary basins isolated from gas reservoirs.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53932-9 |
| spellingShingle | Song-Can Chen Sheng Chen Niculina Musat Steffen Kümmel Jiaheng Ji Marie Braad Lund Alexis Gilbert Oliver J. Lechtenfeld Hans-Hermann Richnow Florin Musat Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane supports archaea-mediated alkanogenesis Nature Communications |
| title | Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane supports archaea-mediated alkanogenesis |
| title_full | Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane supports archaea-mediated alkanogenesis |
| title_fullStr | Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane supports archaea-mediated alkanogenesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane supports archaea-mediated alkanogenesis |
| title_short | Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane supports archaea-mediated alkanogenesis |
| title_sort | back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane supports archaea mediated alkanogenesis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53932-9 |
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