In
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
, ''Methanobrevibacter'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of the
Methanobacteriaceae
In taxonomy, the Methanobacteriaceae are a family of the Methanobacteriales.
Phylogeny
The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Informat ...
.
[See the ]NCBI
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The ...
br>webpage on Methanobrevibacter
Data extracted from the The species within ''Methanobrevibacter'' are
strictly anaerobic archaea that produce methane, for the most part through the reduction of
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...
via
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...
. Most species live in the intestines of larger organisms, such as
termites
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattod ...
and are responsible for the large quantities of
greenhouse gases
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), methane ...
that they produce. ''Mbr. smithii'', found in the human intestine, may play a role in
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
.
Nomenclature
The name ''Methanobrevibacter'' has Latin and Greek roots. ''Methanum'' is Latin for methane, ''brevi'' is Latin for short, and ''bacter'' is Greek for bar.
Professional publications use the
abbreviations ''M.'', ''Mbb.'', and ''Mbr.'', as in ''M. smithii'',
''Mbb. smithii'',
and ''Mbr. smithii''.
Phylogeny
The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the
List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature
List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) is an online database that maintains information on the nomenclature, naming and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of prokaryotes, following the taxonomy requirements and rulings of the In ...
(LPSN)
and
National Center for Biotechnology Information
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The ...
(NCBI).
See also
*
List of Archaea genera
References
Further reading
Scientific journals
*
*
Scientific books
Scientific databases
External links
Archaea genera
Euryarchaeota
{{Euryarchaeota-stub