Methanosarcina mazei

Methanosarcina mazei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Archaea
Kingdom: Methanobacteriati
Phylum: Methanobacteriota
Class: "Methanomicrobia"
Order: Methanosarcinales
Family: Methanosarcinaceae
Genus: Methanosarcina
Species:
M. mazei
Binomial name
Methanosarcina mazei
corrig. (Barker 1936) Mah and Kuhn 1984
Phase contrast (a) and thin section (b) microscopy images of M. mazei. Image from Oshurkova et al. 2020[1]
Microscopy image of Methanosarcina mazei JCM9314, Methanopyrus kandleri, Methanosarcina barkeri, and Methanocaldococcus jannaschi. Image from Kanno et al. 2022.[2]

Methanosarcina mazei is a species of the Class II methanogens, part of the (formerly named) Euryarchaeota archaea. It has previously been known as Methanococcus mazei,[3] Methanococcus frisius, and Methanosarcina frisia.[4][5]

Discovery

M. mazei was first discovered by Mazé in 1915 (described as Pseudosarcina)[6] and first named in 1936 by Albert Barker.[3] M. mazei Gö1, a type-strain, was isolated from a sewage plant in Göttingen, Germany, in 1988 by Friedrich Widdel.[7] M. mazei can be found in fresh water and marine sediments,[8] as well as permafrost.[1]

Morphology

Methanosarcina mazei has coccoid cells around 1–3 microns in diameter that aggregate together[9] with S-layers and a methanochondroitin outer layer in freshwater, and grow as single cells with S-layer coatings in higher salinities.[10] M. mazei can produce an enzyme, disaggregatase, to switch from aggregates to single cells.[11] The S-layer of M. mazei consists primarily of the protein MM1976, which contains five glycosylation sites.[10]

Some strains of M. mazei isolated from Taiwan were found to have pilli and gas vacuoles.[12]

Genome

Methanosarcina mazei's genome consists of a single circular chromosome[8] of around 4.1 Mbp with 3371 protein encoding genes.[9] It uses a single origin of replication,[13] has an average intergenic region of 303 bp,[14] a coding region of 75.15%,[15] and a GC content around 41%.[14] M. mazei is closely related phylogenetically to Methanosarcina acetivorans and Methanosarcina barkeri, with M. mazei most closely resembling the predicted ancestral genome of the three species.[14] Two complete chemotaxis gene sets are present, likely at least partially to support biofilm formation.[8]

M. mazei has long 5' (up to 500 nucleotide) untranslated regions in many of its transcripts, which is not standard for many archaea. Antisense sRNAs are used across the genome for regulation, including for nitrogen regulation and likely for transposon mobility.[15]

Based on DNA sequences, M. mazei uses archaeal DNA replication, transcription, and translation systems but its DNA repair systems are more similar to bacterial systems.[8] M. mazei expresses thermosome enzymes (group II chaperonins) as well group I chaperonins, likely one of many examples of horizontal gene transfer from bacteria.[16] Genes suspected to have been gained from horizontal gene transfer appear scattered throughout the genome, suggesting M. mazei has accepted genes from many hosts.[8]

Growth Requirements and Metabolism

M. mazei grows between 8 and 45 °C, with an optimal temperature of 40 °C. Its optimum pH is 7.2 but can tolerate pHs between 5.5 and 8.5.[9] It can grow in salt contents up to 800 mM Na+,[17] ammonium concentrations of 3 g/L, and volatile fatty acid concentrations up to 10 g/L. To respond to salinity stress, M. mazei can produce N-acetyl-β-lysine and transport glycine-betaine.[8]

ATP synthesis is driven by hydrogen ions using an A1A0 ATPase[18] and an F420H2 dehydrogenase.[19]

M. mazei can utilize a variety of carbon sources for methanogenesis, including CO2, acetate, methanol, and methylamines.[9] It can reduce Fe(III) in ferrihydrite to fuel methylotrophic methanogenesis and produce vivianite.[20] M. mazei can receive electrons from Geobacter species through direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET). It does not require a multiheme cytochrome to participate in DIET.[21]

Biotechnology Applications

M. mazei offers potential as a source of bioplastic production, pollutant degradation, and heavy metal bioremediation. Its tolerance for organic acids, ammonia, and salinity could make it a useful production microbe, and many tools to engineer it have been created, including CRISPR, inducible promoters, and the use of pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetases for codon expansion.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Oshurkova, Viktoriia; Troshina, Olga; Trubitsyn, Vladimir; Ryzhmanova, Yana; Bochkareva, Olga; Shcherbakova, Viktoria (2020-12-18). "Characterization of Methanosarcina mazei JL01 Isolated from Holocene Arctic Permafrost and Study of the Archaeon Cooperation with Bacterium Sphaerochaeta associata GLS2T". The 1st International Electronic Conference on Microbiology. MDPI. p. 4. doi:10.3390/proceedings2020066004.
  2. ↑ Kanno, Nanako; Kato, Shingo; Itoh, Takashi; Ohkuma, Moriya; Shigeto, Shinsuke (June 2022). "Resonance Raman analysis of intracellular vitamin B 12 analogs in methanogenic archaea". Analytical Science Advances. 3 (5–6): 165–173. doi:10.1002/ansa.202100042. ISSN 2628-5452. PMC 10989573. PMID 38716123.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  3. 1 2 Barker, H. Albert (1936). "Studies upon the methane-producing bacteria". Archiv für Mikrobiologie. 7 (1–5): 420–438. Bibcode:1936ArMic...7..420B. doi:10.1007/BF00407414. ISSN 0302-8933.
  4. ↑ Blotevogel, K.-H.; Fischer, U. (1989-01-01). "Transfer of Methanococcus frisius to the Genus Methanosarcina as Methanosarcina frisia comb. nov". International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. 39 (1): 91–92. doi:10.1099/00207713-39-1-91. ISSN 0020-7713.
  5. ↑ Maestrojuan, G. M.; Boone, J. E.; Mah, R. A.; Menaia, J. A. G. F.; Sachs, M. S.; Boone, D. R. (1992-10-01). "Taxonomy and Halotolerance of Mesophilic Methanosarcina Strains, Assignment of Strains to Species, and Synonymy of Methanosarcina mazei and Methanosarcina frisia". International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. 42 (4): 561–567. doi:10.1099/00207713-42-4-561. ISSN 0020-7713.
  6. ↑ Maze, P (July 10, 1915). "Ferment Formenique. Fermentation Formenique de Lacetone. Procede de Culture Simple du Ferment Formenique". Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Seances et Memoires de la Societe de Biologie. 78: 398–405.
  7. ↑ Deppenmeier, U.; Blaut, M.; Jussofie, A.; Gottschalk, G. (1988-12-05). "A methyl-CoM methylreductase system from methanogenic bacterium strain Göl not requiring ATP for activity". FEBS Letters. 241 (1–2): 60–64. Bibcode:1988FEBSL.241...60D. doi:10.1016/0014-5793(88)81031-7. ISSN 0014-5793. PMID 3197839.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Deppenmeier, Uwe; Johann, Andre; Hartsch, Thomas; Merkl, Rainer; Schmitz, Ruth A.; Martinez-Arias, Rosa; Henne, Anke; Wiezer, Arnim; Bäumer, Sebastian; Jacobi, Carsten; Brüggemann, Holger; Lienard, Tanja; Christmann, Andreas; Bömeke, Mechthild; Steckel, Silke (July 2002). "The genome of Methanosarcina mazei: evidence for lateral gene transfer between bacteria and archaea". Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology. 4 (4): 453–461. ISSN 1464-1801. PMID 12125824.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Saranya, S.; Dhayanithi, S.; Thamanna, L.; Lincy, L. Lourdu; Surulinathi, M.; Chellapandi, P. (October 2025). "Beyond methanogenesis: Methanosarcina mazei in biotechnology and biomedical research". Systems Microbiology and Biomanufacturing. 5 (4): 1430–1453. doi:10.1007/s43393-025-00383-y. ISSN 2662-7655.
  10. 1 2 Francoleon, Deborah R.; Boontheung, Pinmanee; Yang, Yanan; Kim, UnMi; Ytterberg, A. Jimmy; Denny, Patricia A.; Denny, Paul C.; Loo, Joseph A.; Gunsalus, Robert P.; Ogorzalek Loo, Rachel R. (2009-03-13). "S-layer, Surface-Accessible, and Concanavalin A Binding Proteins of Methanosarcina acetivorans and Methanosarcina mazei". Journal of Proteome Research. 8 (4): 1972–1982. doi:10.1021/pr800923e. ISSN 1535-3893. PMC 2666069. PMID 19228054.
  11. ↑ Xun, L Y; Mah, R A; Boone, D R (December 1990). "Isolation and characterization of disaggregatase from Methanosarcina mazei LYC". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 56 (12): 3693–3698. Bibcode:1990ApEnM..56.3693X. doi:10.1128/aem.56.12.3693-3698.1990. ISSN 0099-2240. PMC 185053. PMID 2082820.
  12. ↑ Lai, Mei-Chin; Shu, Chin-Ming; Chen, Sheng-Chung; Lai, Li-Jane; Chiou, Ming-Shing; Hua, Jack Jay (2000-07-01). "Methanosarcina mazei Strain O1M9704, Methanogen with Novel Tubule Isolated from Estuarine Environment". Current Microbiology. 41 (1): 15–20. doi:10.1007/s002840010084. ISSN 1432-0991. PMID 10919393.
  13. ↑ Zhang, Ren; Zhang, Chun-Ting (January 2005). "Identification of replication origins in archaeal genomes based on the Z -curve method". Archaea. 1 (5): 335–346. doi:10.1155/2005/509646. ISSN 1472-3646. PMC 2685548. PMID 15876567.
  14. 1 2 3 Maeder, Dennis L.; Anderson, Iain; Brettin, Thomas S.; Bruce, David C.; Gilna, Paul; Han, Cliff S.; Lapidus, Alla; Metcalf, William W.; Saunders, Elizabeth; Tapia, Roxanne; Sowers, Kevin R. (2006-11-15). "The Methanosarcina barkeri Genome: Comparative Analysis with Methanosarcina acetivorans and Methanosarcina mazei Reveals Extensive Rearrangement within Methanosarcinal Genomes". Journal of Bacteriology. 188 (22): 7922–7931. doi:10.1128/JB.00810-06. ISSN 0021-9193. OSTI 901505. PMC 1636319. PMID 16980466.
  15. 1 2 Jäger, Dominik; Sharma, Cynthia M.; Thomsen, Jens; Ehlers, Claudia; Vogel, Jörg; Schmitz, Ruth A. (2009-12-22). "Deep sequencing analysis of the Methanosarcina mazei Gö1 transcriptome in response to nitrogen availability". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 106 (51): 21878–21882. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10621878J. doi:10.1073/pnas.0909051106. ISSN 1091-6490. PMC 2799843. PMID 19996181.
  16. ↑ Klunker, Daniel; Haas, Bernd; Hirtreiter, Angela; Figueiredo, Luis; Naylor, Dean J.; Pfeifer, Günter; Müller, Volker; Deppenmeier, Uwe; Gottschalk, Gerhard; Hartl, F.Ulrich; Hayer-Hartl, Manajit (August 2003). "Coexistence of Group I and Group II Chaperonins in the Archaeon Methanosarcina mazei". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 278 (35): 33256–33267. doi:10.1074/jbc.m302018200. ISSN 0021-9258. PMID 12796498.
  17. ↑ Saum, Regina; Mingote, Ana; Santos, Helena; Müller, Volker (2009-04-24). "A novel limb in the osmoregulatory network of Methanosarcina mazei Gö1: Nε-acetyl-β-lysine can be substituted by glutamate and alanine". Environmental Microbiology. 11 (5): 1056–1065. doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01826.x. ISSN 1462-2912. PMID 19452593.
  18. ↑ Pisa, Kim Y.; Weidner, Claudia; Maischak, Heiko; Kavermann, Holger; Müller, Volker (December 2007). "The coupling ion in the methanoarchaeal ATP synthases: H + vs. Na + in the A 1 A o ATP synthase from the archaeon Methanosarcina mazei Gö1". FEMS Microbiology Letters. 277 (1): 56–63. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2007.00939.x. PMID 17986085.
  19. ↑ Deppenmeier, U. (2002), The unique biochemistry of methanogenesis, Progress in Nucleic Acid Research and Molecular Biology, vol. 71, Elsevier, pp. 223–283, doi:10.1016/s0079-6603(02)71045-3, ISBN 978-0-12-540071-8, PMID 12102556, retrieved 2026-04-18
  20. ↑ Guo, Chaojie; Lu, Yahai (2025-03-19). Cann, Isaac (ed.). "Cometabolism of ferrihydrite reduction and methyl-dismutating methanogenesis by Methanosarcina mazei". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 91 (3) e02238-24. Bibcode:2025ApEnM..91E2238G. doi:10.1128/aem.02238-24. ISSN 0099-2240. PMC 11921357. PMID 39945533.
  21. ↑ Yee, Mon Oo; Rotaru, Amelia-Elena (2020-01-15). "Extracellular electron uptake in Methanosarcinales is independent of multiheme c-type cytochromes". Scientific Reports. 10 (1) 372. Bibcode:2020NatSR..10..372Y. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-57206-z. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6962339. PMID 31941946.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
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