Abstract
Methanogenic archaea growing on ethanol or isopropanol as the electron donor for CO2 reduction to CH4 contain either an NADP-dependent or a coenzyme F420-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase. We report here that in both groups of methanogens, the N 5, N 10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase and the N 5, N 10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin reductase, two enzymes involved in CO2 reduction to CH4, are specific for F420. This raised the question how F420H2 is regenerated in the methanogens with an NADP-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase. We found that these organisms contain catabolic activities of an enzyme catalyzing the reduction of F420 with NADPH. The F420-dependent NADP reductase from Methanogenium organophilum was purified and characterized. The N-terminal amino acid sequence showed 42% sequence identity to a putative gene product in Methanococcus jannaschii, the total genome of which has recently been sequenced.
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Received: 12 May 1997 / Accepted: 1 July 1997
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Berk, H., Thauer, R. Function of coenzyme F420-dependent NADP reductase in methanogenic archaea containing an NADP-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase. Arch Microbiol 168, 396–402 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002030050514
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002030050514
- Key words Coenzyme F420
- F420-dependent NADP
- reductase
- F420-dependent N5
- N10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase
- F420-dependent N5
- N10-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin reductase
- Methanogenic archaea
- Methanogenium organophilum
- Methanobacterium palustre
- Methanogenium liminatans
- Methanoculleus
- thermophilicus