Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane support archaea-mediated alkanogenesis

Song Can Chen; Sheng Chen; Niculina Musat; Steffen Kümmel; Jiaheng Ji; Marie Braad Lund; Alexis Gilbert; Oliver J. Lechtenfeld; Hans Hermann Richnow; Florin Musat

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-53932-9

Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane support archaea-mediated alkanogenesis

Song Can Chen, Sheng Chen, Niculina Musat, Steffen Kümmel, Jiaheng Ji, Marie Braad Lund, Alexis Gilbert, Oliver J. Lechtenfeld, Hans Hermann Richnow, Florin Musat^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Biology - Microbiology

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Microbial formation and oxidation of volatile alkanes in anoxic environments significantly impacts biogeochemical cycles on Earth. The discovery of archaea oxidizing volatile alkanes via deeply branching methyl-coenzyme M reductase variants, dubbed alkyl-CoM reductases (ACR), prompted the hypothesis of archaea-catalysed alkane formation in nature (alkanogenesis). A combination of metabolic modelling, anaerobic physiology assays, and isotope labeling of Candidatus Syntrophoarchaeum archaea catalyzing the anaerobic oxidation of butane (AOB) show a back flux of CO₂ to butane, demonstrating reversibility of the entire AOB pathway. Back fluxes correlate with thermodynamics and kinetics of the archaeal catabolic system. AOB reversibility supports a biological formation of butane, and generally of higher volatile alkanes, helping to explain the presence of isotopically light alkanes and deeply branching ACR genes in sedimentary basins isolated from gas reservoirs.

Original language	English
Article number	9628
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	15
Issue	1
ISSN	2041-1723
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53932-9
Publication status	Published - Dec 2024

Access to Document

10.1038/s41467-024-53932-9Licence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{1299577e78814698864dd740ef211011,

title = "Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane support archaea-mediated alkanogenesis",

abstract = "Microbial formation and oxidation of volatile alkanes in anoxic environments significantly impacts biogeochemical cycles on Earth. The discovery of archaea oxidizing volatile alkanes via deeply branching methyl-coenzyme M reductase variants, dubbed alkyl-CoM reductases (ACR), prompted the hypothesis of archaea-catalysed alkane formation in nature (alkanogenesis). A combination of metabolic modelling, anaerobic physiology assays, and isotope labeling of Candidatus Syntrophoarchaeum archaea catalyzing the anaerobic oxidation of butane (AOB) show a back flux of CO2 to butane, demonstrating reversibility of the entire AOB pathway. Back fluxes correlate with thermodynamics and kinetics of the archaeal catabolic system. AOB reversibility supports a biological formation of butane, and generally of higher volatile alkanes, helping to explain the presence of isotopically light alkanes and deeply branching ACR genes in sedimentary basins isolated from gas reservoirs.",

author = "Chen, {Song Can} and Sheng Chen and Niculina Musat and Steffen K{\"u}mmel and Jiaheng Ji and Lund, {Marie Braad} and Alexis Gilbert and Lechtenfeld, {Oliver J.} and Richnow, {Hans Hermann} and Florin Musat",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2024.",

year = "2024",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1038/s41467-024-53932-9",

language = "English",

volume = "15",

journal = "Nature Communications",

issn = "2041-1723",

publisher = "Nature Research",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane support archaea-mediated alkanogenesis

AU - Chen, Song Can

AU - Chen, Sheng

AU - Musat, Niculina

AU - Kümmel, Steffen

AU - Ji, Jiaheng

AU - Lund, Marie Braad

AU - Gilbert, Alexis

AU - Lechtenfeld, Oliver J.

AU - Richnow, Hans Hermann

AU - Musat, Florin

PY - 2024/12

Y1 - 2024/12

N2 - Microbial formation and oxidation of volatile alkanes in anoxic environments significantly impacts biogeochemical cycles on Earth. The discovery of archaea oxidizing volatile alkanes via deeply branching methyl-coenzyme M reductase variants, dubbed alkyl-CoM reductases (ACR), prompted the hypothesis of archaea-catalysed alkane formation in nature (alkanogenesis). A combination of metabolic modelling, anaerobic physiology assays, and isotope labeling of Candidatus Syntrophoarchaeum archaea catalyzing the anaerobic oxidation of butane (AOB) show a back flux of CO2 to butane, demonstrating reversibility of the entire AOB pathway. Back fluxes correlate with thermodynamics and kinetics of the archaeal catabolic system. AOB reversibility supports a biological formation of butane, and generally of higher volatile alkanes, helping to explain the presence of isotopically light alkanes and deeply branching ACR genes in sedimentary basins isolated from gas reservoirs.

AB - Microbial formation and oxidation of volatile alkanes in anoxic environments significantly impacts biogeochemical cycles on Earth. The discovery of archaea oxidizing volatile alkanes via deeply branching methyl-coenzyme M reductase variants, dubbed alkyl-CoM reductases (ACR), prompted the hypothesis of archaea-catalysed alkane formation in nature (alkanogenesis). A combination of metabolic modelling, anaerobic physiology assays, and isotope labeling of Candidatus Syntrophoarchaeum archaea catalyzing the anaerobic oxidation of butane (AOB) show a back flux of CO2 to butane, demonstrating reversibility of the entire AOB pathway. Back fluxes correlate with thermodynamics and kinetics of the archaeal catabolic system. AOB reversibility supports a biological formation of butane, and generally of higher volatile alkanes, helping to explain the presence of isotopically light alkanes and deeply branching ACR genes in sedimentary basins isolated from gas reservoirs.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85209130303&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-024-53932-9

DO - 10.1038/s41467-024-53932-9

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 39511174

AN - SCOPUS:85209130303

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 15

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

M1 - 9628

ER -

Back flux during anaerobic oxidation of butane support archaea-mediated alkanogenesis

Abstract

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this