Methylocapsa acidiphila B2 Genome Sequencing. Methylocapsa acidiphila B2 strain:B2

Methylocapsa acidiphila is an obligate aerobic methanotroph belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria. It was originally isolated from a Sphagnum bog in Siberia, and is the most acidophilic of the known proteobacterial methanotrophs. Molecular ecology studies suggest that it is one of the major methanotrophic species present in northern peatlands, which are one of the largest global carbon reservoirs and one of the largest sources of atmospheric methane. Methylocapsa oxidizes methane via a particulate methane monooxygenase enzyme. The intracellular membrane system where this enzyme is believed to be localized has a unique geometry compared to other methanotrophs. Comparative genomics of Methylocapsa with two closely related bacteria: the facultative methanotroph Methylocella silvestris and the non-methanotrophic chemoorganotroph Beijerinckia indica, should provide insight into the evolution of obligate methanotrophy, and into the metabolic tradeoffs required for a specialist obligately methanotrophic lifestyle compared to a generalist chemoorganotrophic lifestyle.