Hydrogen-oxidizing Methane Bacteria I. Cultivation and Methanogenesis

Abstract
A method for the mass culture of hydrogen-oxidizing methane bacteria was developed; yield of 50 to 60 g (wet weight) of cells per 12 to 14 liters of culture medium were obtained. The methanogenic organism from the culture of Methanobacillus [Methanobacterium] omelianskii was grown in a complex medium which was aerated with a gas mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Extracts prepared from hydrogen-grown cells formed methane from methyl cobalamin, 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate, serine, pyruvate, and carbon dioxide; these substrates were precursors of methane in extracts of the ethyl alcohol-grown culture of M. omelianskii.