Me.tha.no.cal'cu.lus. N.L. neut. n.
methanum
methane; N.L. masc. n.
calculus
pebble; gravel; N.L. masc. n.
Methanocalculus
a methane‐producing pebble‐shaped bacterium.
Euryarchaeota / Methanomicrobiales / Methanomicrobiales / Methanocalculaceae / Methanocalculus
The genus
Methanocalculus
comprises six species with validly published names:
Methanocalculus halotolerans, Methanocalculus pumilus, Methanocalculus taiwanensis
,
Methanocalculus chunghsingensis
,
Methanocalculus natronophilus
, and
Methanocalculus alkaliphilus
. The members of the genus
Methanocalculus
belong to the
Methanocalculaceae
family. They have less than 90% 16S ribosomal RNA sequence identity to their closest phylogenetic relatives,
Methanoculleus
and
Methanocorpusculum
species.
Methanocalculus
spp. use only hydrogen and formate as electron donors for producing methane and require acetate as a carbon source.
They are mesophilic and have a
G
+
C
content in the DNA ranging from 50.2 to 55.0 mol%. Some species tolerate NaCl at a concentration of 125 g/l (e.g.,
M. halotolerans
). They inhabit a wide range of environments including extreme ones (e.g., saline oil reservoirs and soda lakes) as confirmed by culture‐dependent and ‐independent techniques. While most
Methanocalculus
spp. are neutrophilic, two species,
Methanocalculus natronophilus
and
M. alkaliphilus
, are strictly alkaliphilic.
DNA G + C content (mol%)
: 50–55.
Type species
:
Methanocalculus halotolerans
Ollivier, Fardeau, Cayol, Magot, Patel, Prensier et al., 1998.