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Methanogenesis

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

  • 71 Accesses

Acronyms

MCR:

Methyl coenzyme M reductase

Definition

Methanogenesis is an anaerobic respiration leading to the biological production of methane.

Chemical Formulas

$$ {\displaystyle \begin{array}{c}\mathrm{Hydrogenotrophic}\ \mathrm{methanogenesis}:\\ {}{\mathrm{CO}}_2+{4\mathrm{H}}_2\to {\mathrm{CH}}_4+{2\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\\ {}\varDelta {\mathrm{G}}^{\infty }=-135.6\, \mathrm{KJ}\ {\mathrm{mol}}^{-1}\, \mathrm{methane}\\ {}\mathrm{Methylotrophic}\ \mathrm{methanogenesis}:\\ {}4\mathrm{CH}3\mathrm{OH}\to {3\mathrm{CH}}_4+{\mathrm{CO}}_2+{2\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\\ {}\varDelta {\mathrm{G}}^{\infty }=-112.5\, \mathrm{KJ}\ {\mathrm{mol}}^{-1}\, \mathrm{methane}\\ {}\mathrm{Aceticlastic}\ \mathrm{methanogenesis}:\\ {}\mathrm{CH}3\mathrm{COOH}\to {\mathrm{CH}}_4+{\mathrm{CO}}_2\\ {}\varDelta {\mathrm{G}}^{\infty }=-31.0\, \mathrm{KJ}\ {\mathrm{mol}}^{-1}\, \mathrm{methane}\end{array}} $$
(1)

History

The discovery of biological methane production as flammable marsh gas dates back to the...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Jennifer Glass

  2. University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    William B. Whitman

Authors
  1. Jennifer Glass
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  2. William B. Whitman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer Glass .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  2. Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    William M. Irvine

  3. Centro Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  4. Analytical, Environmental, Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium

    Philippe Claeys

  5. Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan

    Henderson James Cleaves

  6. Radio Astronomy, Paris Observatory, Paris, France

    Maryvonne Gerin

  7. LESIA, Observatoire de Paris-Site de Meudon, Meudon, France

    Daniel Rouan

  8. International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland

    Tilman Spohn

  9. Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques de Nantes, Centre François Viète d’Histoire des Sciences et de Techniques EA 1161, Nantes, France

    Stéphane Tirard

  10. Innovaxiom, Paris, CX, France

    Michel Viso

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Glass, J., Whitman, W.B. (2023). Methanogenesis. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-65093-6_5406

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