What is it about?
Fatty acids are key intermediates in converting waste to methane. Fermentative fatty acid degraders can not grown alone on fatty acids but must have a methanogen. We used recombinant techniques to show that the enzyme that makes hydrogen can only make very low levels before the reaction stops. The methanogen is needed to remove hydrogen and keep reaction going. We now have a biochemical understanding for syntrophy.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
We now know know the biochemical basis of syntrophy. These organisms do not have the ability to make high hydrogen levels like many anaerobes so methangens must be present to keep hydrogen low. With this biochemical information, we can develop better procedures to make waste to methane more effective.
Perspectives
I have work on syntrophy for many years. The organisms are very difficult to grow and it is really hard to purify enzymes from these slow growers. Luckily, I had a graduate student that knew how to due recombinant DNA technology and a former student that helped us in getting an active enzyme after cloning. A great paper came out of bringing the right talent together.
Michael McInerney
University of Oklahoma
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Syntrophomonas wolfei Uses an NADH-Dependent, Ferredoxin-Independent [FeFe]-Hydrogenase To Reoxidize NADH, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2017, ASM Journals,
DOI: 10.1128/aem.01335-17.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
