Research progress and discovery process of facultative methanotrophs—A review

Abstract:

Abstract:Facultative methanotrophs are a group of phylogenetically diverse microorganisms characterized by their ability to use methane and some other compounds containing C-C bond as their sole source of carbon and energy． Recently，facultative methanotrophs in the genera Methylocella， Methylocapsa and Methylocystis，which belong to the Alphaproteobacteria，have been reported that can grow on larger organic acids or ethanol for some species，as well as methane．In this paper，the research history of facultative methanotrophs was summarized systematically，some other facultative methane-oxidizing microorganisms were introduced， the metabolic mechanisms of utilizing multi-carbon compounds by facultative methanotrophs were analyzed，and the current problems and the future engineering applications were discussed．