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Science 21 July 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5785, pp. 370 - 372
DOI: 10.1126/science.1127062
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Reports

Genome of Rice Cluster I Archaea—the Key Methane Producers in the Rice Rhizosphere

Christoph Erkel,1 Michael Kube,2 Richard Reinhardt,2 Werner Liesack1*

Rice fields are a global source of the greenhouse gas methane, which is produced by methanogenic archaea, and by methanogens of Rice Cluster I (RC-I) in particular. RC-I methanogens are not yet available in pure culture, and the mechanistic reasons for their prevalence in rice fields are unknown. We reconstructed a complete RC-I genome (3.18 megabases) using a metagenomic approach. Sequence analysis demonstrated an aerotolerant, H2/CO2-dependent lifestyle and enzymatic capacities for carbohydrate metabolism and assimilatory sulfate reduction, hitherto unknown among methanogens. These capacities and a unique set of antioxidant enzymes and DNA repair mechanisms as well as oxygen-insensitive enzymes provide RC-I with a selective advantage over other methanogens in its habitats, thereby explaining the prevalence of RC-I methanogens in the rice rhizosphere.

1 Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Strasse, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
2 Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: liesack{at}mpi-marburg.mpg.de

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Methanocella paludicola gen. nov., sp. nov., a methane-producing archaeon, the first isolate of the lineage 'Rice Cluster I', and proposal of the new archaeal order Methanocellales ord. nov..
S. Sakai, H. Imachi, S. Hanada, A. Ohashi, H. Harada, and Y. Kamagata (2008)
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 58, 929-936
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Characterization of the Archaeal Community in a Minerotrophic Fen and Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism-Directed Isolation of a Novel Hydrogenotrophic Methanogen.
H. Cadillo-Quiroz, E. Yashiro, J. B. Yavitt, and S. H. Zinder (2008)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 74, 2059-2068
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Metabolic, Phylogenetic, and Ecological Diversity of the Methanogenic Archaea.
Y. LIU and W. B. WHITMAN (2008)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1125, 171-189
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Archaeon Methanosarcina acetivorans Contains a Protein Disulfide Reductase with an Iron-Sulfur Cluster.
D. J. Lessner and J. G. Ferry (2007)
J. Bacteriol. 189, 7475-7484
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Isolation of Key Methanogens for Global Methane Emission from Rice Paddy Fields: a Novel Isolate Affiliated with the Clone Cluster Rice Cluster I.
S. Sakai, H. Imachi, Y. Sekiguchi, A. Ohashi, H. Harada, and Y. Kamagata (2007)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 73, 4326-4331
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)