Hydrogenotrophs are organisms that are able to metabolize molecular hydrogen as a source of energy.
An example of hydrogenotrophy is performed by carbon dioxide-reducing organisms[1] which use CO2 and H2 to produce methane (CH4) by the following reaction:
- CO2 + 4H2 → CH4 + 2H2O
Other hydrogenotrophic metabolic pathways include acetogenesis, sulfate reduction, and other hydrogen oxidizing bacteria. Those that metabolize methane are called methanogenic.[2] Hydrogenotrophs belong to a group of organisms known as methanogens, organisms that carry out anaerobic processes that are responsible for the production of methane through carbon dioxide reduction. Methanogens also include a group of organisms called methylotrophs, organisms that can use single-carbon molecules or molecules with no carbon-carbon bonds.[3]
- ^ Stams, J.M., and Plugge, C.M. (2010) The microbiology of methanogenesis. In Reay, D., Smith, P., and Van Amstel, A., eds. Methane and Climate Change, 14-26.
- ^ Vianna, M. E.; Holtgraewe, S.; Seyfarth, I.; Conrads, G.; Horz, H. P. (2008). "Quantitative Analysis of Three Hydrogenotrophic Microbial Groups, Methanogenic Archaea, Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria, and Acetogenic Bacteria, within Plaque Biofilms Associated with Human Periodontal Disease". Journal of Bacteriology. 190 (10): 3779–3785. doi:10.1128/JB.01861-07. PMC 2394984. PMID 18326571.
- ^ Costa, Kyle C; Leigh, John A (2014-10-01). "Metabolic versatility in methanogens". Current Opinion in Biotechnology. Cell and Pathway Engineering. 29: 70–75. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2014.02.012. ISSN 0958-1669. PMID 24662145.