Oxygenation of methane by methane-grown Pseudomonas methanica and Methanomonas methanooxidans.
1. Experimental conditions have been found in which small amounts of methanol (approximately 2.5mm) accumulated when washed cell suspensions of methane-grown Pseudomonas methanica and Methanomonas methanooxidans were incubated with methane+oxygen mixtures in Warburg flasks. 2. The methanol formed could be separated completely from water by fractional distillation through glass helices followed by gas chromatography using 20% polyethylene glycol 400 on a Celite 545 support. 3. By using (18)O-enriched oxygen gas the abundance of (18)O in the methanol formed from oxidation of methane was measured with a Perkin-Elmer 270 combined gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer. The results showed that the oxygen in methanol was derived exclusively from gaseous oxygen in both micro-organisms. 4. Control experiments using [(18)O]water in incubation mixtures confirmed that there was negligible incorporation of the oxygen atom from water into methanol.
D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D008365:Manometry; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism*; D000432:Methanol / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010103:Oxygen Isotopes; D010105:Oxygenases; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000378:metabolism*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
D010103:Oxygen Isotopes; D014867:Water; D010105:Oxygenases; D008697:Methane; D000432:Methanol