Enrichment and Isolation of Aerobic and Anaerobic Methanotrophs

Abstract

Methanotrophs mediate methane oxidation to produce CO2 which is facilitated by methane monooxygenase. Owing to this unique nature, methanotrophs are required in many industrial processes and have environmental applications. For this purpose, diverse aerobic proteobacterial and verrucomicrobial methanotrophs with different traits have been isolated and characterized. Members of the “NC10” phylum of bacteria and Archaea are involved in methane oxidation in anoxic conditions. These methanotrophs have been isolated from various environments including extreme environments, and thus, have diverse physiological and biochemical properties as regards to the required optimum pH, oxygen, temperature, salinity, and electron acceptors. To obtain novel methanotrophs with high potential of application, new cultivation technologies have been developed with the aid of advanced methodologies for monitoring the identity and activity of methanotrophs. In this chapter, we summarize the factors to be considered in the cultivation of methanotrophs and technologies developed for enrichment and isolation of diverse aerobic and anaerobic methanotrophs from various environments.