Methoxylated aromatic compounds (MACs) are a diverse group of aromatic ethers with significant relevance in biological systems. Lignin constitutes the primary source of MACs, comprising a substantial portion of organic matter in global ecosystems^[1]. Conversion of MACs by bacteria and fungi has already been observed since over 40 years^[2]. Yet only recently, it has been discovered that also archaea have this ability: Methoxydotrophic archaea use a bacteria-like methyltransferase system, designated the Mto system for MAC conversion^[3,4]. Given the abundance of MACs on Earth, the presence of mto genes in a variety of archaeal taxa^[3] and the lacking knowledge about their ecology, methoxydotrophic archaea might exert an underestimated yet important influence on global climate due to CH₄ & CO₂ formation from MACs.

This project aims to elucidate the prevalence of methoxydotrophic archaea and their biogeography. For this purpose, primer pairs will be designed for amplicon sequencing and evaluated by in silico & wet lab experiments to specifically target archaeal mto gene sequences within different environmental samples based on a curated database of each gene.

In summary, the project will investigate the distribution and diversity of methoxydotrophic archaea in distinct habitats. Based on potential findings in this project, future studies will further aim to illuminate the microbial ecology of these fascinating microbes in different ecosystems.

Bibliography

[1] D. J. Burdige, Global Biogeochem. Cycles 2005, 19.

[2] R. Bache, N. Pfennig, Arch. Microbiol. 1981, 130, 255–261.

[3] C. U. Welte, R. de Graaf, P. Dalcin Martins, R. S. Jansen, M. S. M. Jetten, J. M. Kurth, Environ. Microbiol. 2021, 23, 4017–4033.

[4] J. M. Kurth, M. K. Nobu, H. Tamaki, N. de Jonge, S. Berger, M. S. M. Jetten, K. Yamamoto, D. Mayumi, S. Sakata, L. Bai, L. Cheng, J. L. Nielsen, Y. Kamagata, T. Wagner, C. U. Welte, ISME J. 2021, 15, 3549–3565.