Methylobacillus flagellatus
| Methylobacillus glycogenes | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Proteobacteria |
| Class: | Betaproteobacteria |
| Order: | Methylophilales |
| Family: | Methylophilaceae |
| Genus: | Methylobacillus |
| Species: | M. flagellatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Methylobacillus flagellatus |
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Methylobacillus flagellatus is a species of aerobic bacteria.
Methylobacillus is a group of methylotrophic aerobic bacteria, and they can be found in large numbers in marine and fresh water ecosystems. These organisms are one of Earth’s most important carbon recyclers, and they recycle such important carbon compounds as methane, methanol, and methylated amines on Earth. “In general methylotrophs can use green-house gases such as carbon dioxide and methane as substrates to fulfill their energy and carbon needs.” Furthermore, strong scientific evidences indicate that a subset group of methylotrophs, the methanotrophs, play huge roles in global warming and groundwater contamination. According to Bonnie et al., methane gas is far more efficient at absorbing infrared radiation than carbon dioxide gas, and “the concentration of methane has been increasing at an alarming rate of 1% per year for the last 150 year to 200 years.” The role that these methylotrophs play in carbon cycling may help us understand, and eventually combat global warming. Thus, it is imperative for researchers to classify, and study methylotrophic bacteria.
One such important methylotroph of interest is Methylobacillus flagellatus KT strain. Methylobacillus flagellatus was first isolated in the early 1980s in sewerage pipes of a metropolitan sanitary sewer. “M. flagellatus is most closely related to other members of the family Methylophilaceae.” The shape of M. flagellatus is an oval shape, with multiple flagella originating from opposite poles of the bacteria. Using small-subunit 16S rRNAs and comparing metabolic/phylogenic similarities and differences< between M. flagellatus and its relatives, scientists have determined that Methylobacillus flagellatus (betaproteobacteria) is more closely related to Methylobacterium extorquens (alphaproteobacteria) and Methylococcus capsulatus (gammaproteobacteria), than to Methylibium petroleiphilum (betaproteobacteria).
The genome of Methylobacillus flagellatus is a circular chromosome that is approximately 3Mbp long, and it encodes about 2,766 proteins. According to Chistoserdova et al., M. flagellatus’ genome does not code for three enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle). The failure of M. flagellatus to produce these three enzymes (dehydrogenases) means that it can only rely on one-carbon compounds as carbon substrates for the production of precursor molecules, and for its energy needs. The ability to use only one-carbon substrates automatically makes M. flagellatus an obligate methylotroph.
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