Methanogenesis

Methanogenesis is the production of CH₄ and CO₂ by biological processes that are carried out by methanogens.

Methanogen

A methanogen is a single celled microorganism that produces methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), and it is a member of the Archaea. Archaea were once thought to be bacteria, and are unique because unlike most life on Earth that rely on oxygen and complex organic compounds for energy, Archaea rely on simple organic compounds (e.g., acetate) and hydrogen (H₂) for energy.

Methanogenic

Methanogenic microorganisms produce CH₄ by the fermentation of simple organic carbon compounds or oxidation of H₂ under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions with the production of CO₂. Methanogenic conditions prevail in many contamination plumes after all other electron acceptors (O₂, NO₃, Fe⁺³,and SO₄) have been used up by other members of the subsurface microbial community.

Information on Microbiology

• "Ground-Water Microbiology and Geochemistry" Textbook Published by USGS Scientist
• Information on Archaea from the American Society for Microbiology
• An Introduction to Archaea from the Department of Plant Biology at University of California, Berkeley
• USGS Microbiology Laboratory, Columbus, Ohio
• USGS Microbiology Research: Activity, Biogeochemistry, and Transport in Water
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Microbiology Home Page
• U.S. Department of Energy's Microbial Genome Program
• Archaea Taxonomy from the National Institutes of Health

Information on Toxics Program Microbiological Investigations

• History and Ecology of Chloroethene Biodegradation–A Review
• The Changing Face of Microbial Communities in Contaminant Plumes
• A Unique Approach to Evaluating Natural Attenuation is Applied Worldwide
• Scientists Discover Analog for Extraterrestrial Life in Idaho Hot Spring
• Processes that Control the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents
• Microbial Degradation of Chloroethenes in Ground Water Systems
• Application of Molecular Methods in Microbial Ecology to Understand the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents
• Microbiology and Molecular Ecology of Biogeochemical Cycles in Aquatic Environments
• Bacteria-Contaminant Interactions
• Organic Compounds in Near-Surface Environments: Understanding Fate in a Changing Biogeochemical Landscape
• Creosote Waste in Ground Water, Pensacola, Florida

Related Headlines

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