Methanobacterium

Methanobacterium is a genus of methane-producing archaea that inhabit anaerobic environments, including animal digestive tracts. Its members generate methane mainly by reducing carbon dioxide with hydrogen.

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Methanogenesis: The biological production of methane by certain archaea. Methanobacterium is one genus that carries out this metabolism.
Archaea: One of the three domains of life, comprising prokaryotes distinct from bacteria and eukaryotes. Methanobacterium belongs to this domain, not to the bacteria.
Rumen: The largest compartment of a ruminant stomach, where microbes ferment plant material. Methanobacterium in the rumen can use fermentation-derived hydrogen to form methane.
Methanobacterium formicicum: A methane-producing archaeal species found in anaerobic environments and studied in methanogenesis research. It is a well-studied species used to investigate hydrogen-dependent methane production.
Hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis: Methane production by reducing carbon dioxide with hydrogen. This is the principal methane-producing pathway in many Methanobacterium species.
Prokaryote: An organism whose cell lacks a membrane-bound nucleus. Methanobacterium cells have a prokaryotic organization.
Biogas: A combustible gas mixture, mainly methane and carbon dioxide, produced from organic matter. Methanobacterium contributes methane to biogas made in oxygen-free reactors.
Methanobacterium bryantii: A methanogenic archaeal species isolated from anaerobic environments. Its physiology illustrates methane production within the genus.
Methyl-coenzyme M reductase: The enzyme that catalyzes the final methane-forming step in methanogenesis. Methanobacterium relies on this enzyme to release methane.
Archaeal cell wall: The outer structural layer of an archaeal cell, built without bacterial peptidoglycan. Methanobacterium has a distinctive archaeal wall rather than a bacterial one.