Zehnle, Hanna
[Author];
Laso-Pérez, Rafael
[Author];
Lipp, Julius
[Author];
Riedel, Dietmar
[Author];
Merino, David Benito
[Author];
Teske, Andreas
[Author];
Wegener, Gunter
[Author]
Published in:Nature microbiology ; 8(2023), Seite 1199-1212
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1038/s41564-023-01400-3
ISSN:
2058-5276
Identifier:
Origination:
Footnote:
Published online: 01 June 2023
Description:
Methanogenic and methanotrophic archaea produce and consume the greenhouse gas methane, respectively, using the reversible enzyme methyl-coenzyme M reductase (Mcr). Recently, Mcr variants that can activate multicarbon alkanes have been recovered from archaeal enrichment cultures. These enzymes, called alkyl-coenzyme M reductase (Acrs), are widespread in the environment but remain poorly understood. Here we produced anoxic cultures degrading mid-chain petroleum n-alkanes between pentane (C5) and tetradecane (C14) at 70 °C using oil-rich Guaymas Basin sediments. In these cultures, archaea of the genus Candidatus Alkanophaga activate the alkanes with Acrs and completely oxidize the alkyl groups to CO2. Ca. Alkanophaga form a deep-branching sister clade to the methanotrophs ANME-1 and are closely related to the short-chain alkane oxidizers Ca. Syntrophoarchaeum. Incapable of sulfate reduction, Ca. Alkanophaga shuttle electrons released from alkane oxidation to the sulfate-reducing Ca. Thermodesulfobacterium syntrophicum. These syntrophic consortia are potential key players in petroleum degradation in heated oil reservoirs.