Archaea Genomes - METHANOCOCCUS MARIPALUDIS

Methanococcus maripaludis (Latin "mare" meaning sea, "palus" meaning marsh) is a model species among the methanogenic Archaea. Methanogenic fermentation is an anaerobic process that converts organic waste material into methane and carbon dioxide. Methane is a common fuel already in wide use. Genetic modification of these organisms has great potential in improving the efficiency of the fermentation and reducing costs.

M . maripaludis is strictly anaerobic, hydrogenotrophic (growing on hydrogen and carbon dioxide) and nitrogen-fixing, and is a mesophilic relative of the hyperthermophilic Methanococcus jannaschii

Cells are irregular cocci with weak motility. M. maripaludis is an excellent laboratory model because of rapid, reliable growth, a complete genome sequence, a robust set of genetic tools, and ongoing studies with expression arrays and proteomics.

References:

http://faculty.washington.edu/leighj/mm.html http://myprofile.cos.com/wbwhitman