Methanogens: a window into ancient sulfur metabolism.

Yuchen Liu, Laura L Beer, William B Whitman

Journal: Trends in microbiology 2012;20(5):251-8

PMID: 22406173

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

Methanogenesis is an ancient metabolism that originated on the early anoxic Earth. The buildup of O(2) about 2.4 billion years ago led to formation of a large oceanic sulfate pool, the onset of widespread sulfate reduction and the marginalization of methanogens to anoxic and sulfate-poor niches. Contemporary methanogens are restricted to anaerobic habitats and may have retained some metabolic relics that were common in early anaerobic life. Consistent with this hypothesis, methanogens do not utilize sulfate as a sulfur source, Cys is not utilized as a sulfur donor for Fe-S cluster and Met biosynthesis, and Cys biosynthesis uses an unusual tRNA-dependent pathway.

Address: Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.

DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2012.02.002

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MeSH Terms: Biological Evolution, Euryarchaeota, Methane, Sulfur