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Methylacidiphilum Infernorum
''Methylacidiphilum infernorum '' is an extremely acidophilic methanotrophic aerobic bacteria first isolated and described in 2007 growing on soil and sediment on Hell's Gate, New Zealand. Similar organisms have also been isolated from geothermal sites on Italy and Russia. A polyextremophile, these non-motile rods grows optimally at pH between 2.0 and 2.5 and temperature of 60 °C. It is a methanotrophic obligated bacteria that grows at 25% (v/v) of methane in air. It is also very dependent on carbon dioxide concentrations to grow, optimally at 8% (v/v) in air. Due to its classification in the phylum ''Verrucomicrobiota'' and its extreme acidophilic phenotype ''M. infernorum'' is unique between all known methanotrophs. Biology Genome It has a single circular chromosome of 2,287,145 base pairs. Under genome analysis it was found that ''M. infernorum'' may use a novel methylotrophic pathway because it encodes methane monooxygenase enzymes but lacks known genetic modules ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep biosphere of Earth's crust. Bacteria are vital in many stages of the nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients such as the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere. The nutrient cycle includes the decomposition of dead bodies; bacteria are responsible for the putrefaction stage in this process. In the biological communities surrounding hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, extremophile bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds, such as hydrogen sulphide and methane, to energy. Bacteria also live in symbiotic and parasitic relationsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Earth makes it an economically attractive fuel, although capturing and storing it poses technical challenges due to its gaseous state under normal conditions for temperature and pressure. Naturally occurring methane is found both below ground and under the seafloor and is formed by both geological and biological processes. The largest reservoir of methane is under the seafloor in the form of methane clathrates. When methane reaches the surface and the atmosphere, it is known as atmospheric methane. The Earth's atmospheric methane concentration has increased by about 150% since 1750, and it accounts for 20% of the total radiative forcing from all of the long-lived and globally mixed greenhouse gases. It has also been detected on other plane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arginine Decarboxylase
The enzyme Acid-Induced Arginine Decarboxylase (AdiA) (), also commonly referred to as arginine decarboxylase, catalyzes the conversion of L-arginine into agmatine and carbon dioxide. The process consumes a proton in the decarboxylation and employs a pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) cofactor, similar to other enzymes involved in amino acid metabolism, such as ornithine decarboxylase and glutamine decarboxylase. It is found in bacteria and virus, though most research has so far focused on forms of the enzyme in bacteria. During the AdiA catalyzed decarboxylation of arginine, the necessary proton is consumed from the cell cytoplasm which helps to prevent the over-accumulation of protons inside the cell and serves to increase the intracellular pH. Arginine decarboxylase is part of an enzymatic system in ''Escherichia coli'' (''E. coli''), ''Salmonella'' Typhimurium, and methane-producing bacteria ''Methanococcus jannaschii''; that makes these organisms acid resistant and allows th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glutamate Decarboxylase
Glutamate decarboxylase or glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) is an enzyme that catalyzes the decarboxylation of glutamate to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and carbon dioxide (). GAD uses pyridoxal-phosphate (PLP) as a cofactor. The reaction proceeds as follows: : In mammals, GAD exists in two isoforms with molecular weights of 67 and 65 kDa (GAD67 and GAD65), which are encoded by two different genes on different chromosomes (GAD1 and GAD2 genes, chromosomes 2 and 10 in humans, respectively). GAD67 and GAD65 are expressed in the brain where GABA is used as a neurotransmitter, and they are also expressed in the insulin-producing β-cells of the pancreas, in varying ratios depending upon the species. Together, these two enzymes maintain the major physiological supply of GABA in mammals, though it may also be synthesized from putrescine in the enteric nervous system, brain, and elsewhere by the actions of diamine oxidase and aldehyde dehydrogenase 1a1. Several truncated tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urea Cycle
The urea cycle (also known as the ornithine cycle) is a cycle of biochemical reactions that produces urea (NH2)2CO from ammonia (NH3). Animals that use this cycle, mainly amphibians and mammals, are called ureotelic. The urea cycle converts highly toxic ammonia to urea for excretion. This cycle was the first metabolic cycle to be discovered ( Hans Krebs and Kurt Henseleit, 1932), five years before the discovery of the TCA cycle. This cycle was described in more detail later on by Ratner and Cohen. The urea cycle takes place primarily in the liver and, to a lesser extent, in the kidneys. Function Amino acid catabolism results in waste ammonia. All animals need a way to excrete this product. Most aquatic organisms, or ammonotelic organisms, excrete ammonia without converting it. Organisms that cannot easily and safely remove nitrogen as ammonia convert it to a less toxic substance, such as urea, via the urea cycle, which occurs mainly in the liver. Urea produced by the liver is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Methylotroph
Methylotrophs are a diverse group of microorganisms that can use reduced one-carbon compounds, such as methanol or methane, as the carbon source for their growth; and multi-carbon compounds that contain no carbon-carbon bonds, such as dimethyl ether and dimethylamine. This group of microorganisms also includes those capable of assimilating reduced one-carbon compounds by way of carbon dioxide using the ribulose bisphosphate pathway. These organisms should not be confused with methanogens which on the contrary produce methane as a by-product from various one-carbon compounds such as carbon dioxide. Some methylotrophs can degrade the greenhouse gas methane, and in this case they are called methanotrophs. The abundance, purity, and low price of methanol compared to commonly used sugars make methylotrophs competent organisms for production of amino acids, vitamins, recombinant proteins, single-cell proteins, co-enzymes and cytochromes. Metabolism The key intermediate in methylotr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cobalamin
Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. It is important in the normal functioning of the nervous system via its role in the synthesis of myelin, and in the circulatory system in the maturation of red blood cells in the bone marrow. Plants do not need cobalamin and carry out the reactions with enzymes that are not dependent on it. Vitamin B12 is the most chemically complex of all vitamins, and for humans, the only vitamin that must be sourced from animal-derived foods or from supplements. Only some archaea and bacteria can synthesize vitamin B12. Most people in developed countries get enough B12 from the consumption of meat or foods with animal sources. Foods containing vitamin B12 include meat, clams, liver, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. Many breakfast cereals are for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light-independent Reactions
The Calvin cycle, light-independent reactions, bio synthetic phase, dark reactions, or photosynthetic carbon reduction (PCR) cycle of photosynthesis is a series of chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen-carrier compounds into glucose. The Calvin cycle is present in all photosynthetic eukaryotes and also many photosynthetic bacteria. In plants, these reactions occur in the stroma, the fluid-filled region of a chloroplast outside the thylakoid membranes. These reactions take the products ( ATP and NADPH) of light-dependent reactions and perform further chemical processes on them. The Calvin cycle uses the chemical energy of ATP and reducing power of NADPH from the light dependent reactions to produce sugars for the plant to use. These substrates are used in a series of reduction-oxidation reactions to produce sugars in a step-wise process; there is no direct reaction that converts several molecules of to a sugar. There are three phases to the light-independent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Methane Monooxygenase
Methane monooxygenase (MMO) is an enzyme capable of oxidizing the C-H bond in methane as well as other alkanes. Methane monooxygenase belongs to the class of oxidoreductase enzymes (). There are two forms of MMO: the well-studied soluble form (sMMO) and the particulate form (pMMO). The active site in sMMO contains a di-iron center bridged by an oxygen atom (Fe-O-Fe), whereas the active site in pMMO utilizes copper. Structures of both proteins have been determined by X-ray crystallography; however, the location and mechanism of the active site in pMMO is still poorly understood and is an area of active research. The particulate methane monooxygenase and related ammonia monooxygenase are integral membrane proteins, occurring in methanotrophs and ammonia oxidisers, respectively, which are thought to be related. These enzymes have a relatively wide substrate specificity and can catalyse the oxidation of a range of substrates including ammonia, methane, halogenated hydrocarbons, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Methylotroph
Methylotrophs are a diverse group of microorganisms that can use reduced one-carbon compounds, such as methanol or methane, as the carbon source for their growth; and multi-carbon compounds that contain no carbon-carbon bonds, such as dimethyl ether and dimethylamine. This group of microorganisms also includes those capable of assimilating reduced one-carbon compounds by way of carbon dioxide using the ribulose bisphosphate pathway. These organisms should not be confused with methanogens which on the contrary produce methane as a by-product from various one-carbon compounds such as carbon dioxide. Some methylotrophs can degrade the greenhouse gas methane, and in this case they are called methanotrophs. The abundance, purity, and low price of methanol compared to commonly used sugars make methylotrophs competent organisms for production of amino acids, vitamins, recombinant proteins, single-cell proteins, co-enzymes and cytochromes. Metabolism The key intermediate in methylotr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Base Pairs
A base pair (bp) is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both DNA and RNA. Dictated by specific hydrogen bonding patterns, "Watson–Crick" (or "Watson–Crick–Franklin") base pairs (guanine–cytosine and adenine–thymine) allow the DNA helix to maintain a regular helical structure that is subtly dependent on its nucleotide sequence. The complementary nature of this based-paired structure provides a redundant copy of the genetic information encoded within each strand of DNA. The regular structure and data redundancy provided by the DNA double helix make DNA well suited to the storage of genetic information, while base-pairing between DNA and incoming nucleotides provides the mechanism through which DNA polymerase replicates DNA and RNA polymerase transcribes DNA into RNA. Many DNA-binding proteins ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Methanotrophs
Methanotrophs (sometimes called methanophiles) are prokaryotes that metabolize methane as their source of carbon and chemical energy. They are bacteria or archaea, can grow aerobically or anaerobically, and require single-carbon compounds to survive. Methanotrophs are especially common in or near environments where methane is produced, although some methanotrophs can oxidize atmospheric methane. Their habitats include wetlands, soils, marshes, rice paddies, landfills, aquatic systems (lakes, oceans, streams) and more. They are of special interest to researchers studying global warming, as they play a significant role in the global methane budget, by reducing the amount of methane emitted to the atmosphere. Methanotrophy is a special case of methylotrophy, using single-carbon compounds that are more reduced than carbon dioxide. Some methylotrophs, however, can also make use of multi-carbon compounds; this differentiates them from methanotrophs, which are usually fastidious metha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
