Investigation of central energy metabolism-related protein complexes of ANME-2d methanotrophic archaea by complexome profiling

The anaerobic oxidation of methane is important for mitigating emissions of this potent greenhouse gas to the atmosphere and is mediated by anaerobic methanotrophic archaea. In a Candidatus Methanoperedens BLZ2' enrichment culture used in this study, methane is oxidized to CO2 with nitrate being the terminal electron acceptor of an anaerobic respiratory chain. Energy conservation mechanisms of anaerobic methanotrophs have mostly been studied at metagenomic level and hardly any protein data is available at this point. To close this gap, we used complexome profiling to investigate the presence and subunit composition of protein complexes involved in energy conservation processes. All enzyme complexes and their subunit composition involved in reverse methanogenesis were identified. The membrane-bound enzymes of the respiratory chain, such as F420H2 :quinone oxidoreductase, membrane-bound heterodisulfide reductase, nitrate reductases and Rieske cytochrome bc(1) complex were all detected. Additional or putative subunits such as an octaheme subunit as part of the Rieske cytochrome bc(1) complex were discovered that will be interesting targets for future studies. Furthermore, several soluble proteins were identified, which are potentially involved in oxidation of reduced ferredoxin produced during reverse methanogenesis leading to formation of small organic molecules. Taken together these findings provide an updated, refined picture of the energy metabolism of the environmentally important group of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea.

Automated summary

In this study, the presence and subunit composition of protein complexes involved in energy conservation processes in anaerobic methanotrophic archaea were investigated using complexome profiling. All enzyme complexes and their subunit composition related to reverse methanogenesis were identified, providing a refined picture of the energy metabolism of these environmentally important microorganisms.