Methanococcus

Methanococcus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Archaea
Kingdom:	Euryarchaeota
Phylum:	Euryarchaeota
Class:	Methanococci
Order:	Methanococcales
Family:	Methanococcaceae
Genus:	Methanococcus
Binomial name
*Methanococcus* Kluyver and van Niel 1936 emend. Barker 1936 (Approved Lists 1980)
Species
M. aeolicus M. maripaludis M. vannielii M. voltae "M. thermolithotrophicus" "M. jannaschii"

In taxonomy, Methanococcus is a genus of the Methanococcaceae.^[1]

Methanococcus is a genus of coccoid methanogens. They are all mesophiles, except the thermophilic M. thermolithotrophicus and the hyperthermophilic M. jannaschii. The latter was discovered at the base of a “white smoker” chimney at 21°N on the East Pacific Rise^[2] and its was the first archaeal genome to be completely sequenced, revealing many novel and eukaryote-like elements.^[3]

References

^ See the NCBI webpage on Methanococcus. Data extracted from the "NCBI taxonomy resources". National Center for Biotechnology Information. ftp://ftp.ncbi.nih.gov/pub/taxonomy/. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
^ W.J. Jones, et al. (December 1983). "Methanococcus jannaschii sp. nov., an extremely thermophilic methanogen from a submarine hydrothermal vent". Arch. Microbiol. 136 (4): 254–261. doi:10.1007/BF00425213.
^ C.J. Bult, et al. (August 1996). "Complete genome sequence of the methanogenic archaeon, Methanococcus jannaschii". Science 273 (5278): 1058–1073. doi:10.1126/science.273.5278.1058. PMID 8688087.

Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (2005). "The nomenclatural types of the orders Acholeplasmatales, Halanaerobiales, Halobacteriales, Methanobacteriales, Methanococcales, Methanomicrobiales, Planctomycetales, Prochlorales, Sulfolobales, Thermococcales, Thermoproteales and Verrucomicrobiales are the genera Acholeplasma, Halanaerobium, Halobacterium, Methanobacterium, Methanococcus, Methanomicrobium, Planctomyces, Prochloron, Sulfolobus, Thermococcus, Thermoproteus and Verrucomicrobium, respectively. Opinion 79". Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 55 (Pt 1): 517–518. doi:10.1099/ijs.0.63548-0. PMID 15653928.

Jeanthon C, L'Haridon S, Pradel N, Prieur D (1999). "Rapid identification of hyperthermophilic methanococci isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal vents". Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 49: 591–594. doi:10.1099/00207713-49-2-591. PMID 10319480.

Keswani J, Orkand S, Premachandran U, Mandelco L, Franklin MJ, Whitman WB (1996). "Phylogeny and taxonomy of mesophilic Methanococcus spp. and comparison of rRNA, DNA hybridization, and phenotypic methods". Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 46 (3): 727–735. doi:10.1099/00207713-46-3-727. PMID 8782682.

Wayne, LG (1986). "Actions of the Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology on requests for opinions published in1983 and 1984". Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 36: 357–358. doi:10.1099/00207713-36-2-357.

Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (1986). "Transfer of the type species of the genus Methanococcus to the genus Methanosarcina as Methanosarcina mazei (Barker 1936) comb. nov. et emend. Mah and Kuhn 1984 and conservation of the genus Methanococcus (Approved Lists, 1980) emend. Mah and Kuhn 1984 with Methanococcus vannielii (Approved Lists, 1980) as the type species". Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 36: 491. doi:10.1099/00207713-36-3-491.

Mah RA, Kuhn DA (1984). "Transfer of the type species of the genus Methanococcus to the genus Methanosarcina naming it Methanosarcina mazei (Barker 1936) comb. nov. et emend. and conservation of the genus Methanococcus (Approved Lists, 1980) with Methanococcus vannielii (Approved Lists, 1980) as the type species. Request for an opinion". Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 34: 263–265. doi:10.1099/00207713-34-2-263.

Kluyver AJ, van Niel CB (1936). "Prospects for a natural system of classification of bacteria". Zentralbl. Bakterol. Parasitenkd. Infectinskr. Hyg., Abt. II 94: 369–403.

Types

Notable
extremophiles

Bacteria	Chloroflexus aurantiacus · Deinococcus radiodurans · Deinococcus-Thermus · Snottite · Thermus aquaticus · Thermus thermophilus · Spirochaeta americana · GFAJ-1

Archaea	Pyrococcus furiosus · Strain 121 · Pyrolobus fumarii

Animalia	Paralvinella sulfincola · Halicephalobus mephisto · Pompeii worm · Tardigrada