{"doi":"10.1128/aem.03076-13","title":"Glycine Betaine as a Direct Substrate for Methanogens (Methanococcoides spp.)","abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title>\n          <jats:p>\n            Nine marine methanogenic\n            <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">Methanococcoides</jats:named-content>\n            strains, including the type strains of\n            <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">Methanococcoides methylutens</jats:named-content>\n            ,\n            <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">M. burtonii</jats:named-content>\n            , and\n            <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">M. alaskense</jats:named-content>\n            , were tested for the utilization of\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -methylated glycines. Three strains (NM1, PM2, and MKM1) used glycine betaine (\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            ,\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            ,\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -trimethylglycine) as a substrate for methanogenesis, partially demethylating it to\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            ,\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -dimethylglycine, whereas none of the strains used\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            ,\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -dimethylglycine or sarcosine (\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -methylglycine). Growth rates and growth yields per mole of substrate with glycine betaine (3.96 g [dry weight] per mol) were similar to those with trimethylamine (4.11 g [dry weight] per mol). However, as glycine betaine is only partially demethylated, the yield per methyl group was significantly higher than with trimethylamine. If glycine betaine and trimethylamine are provided together, trimethylamine is demethylated to dimethyl- and methylamine with limited glycine betaine utilization. After trimethylamine is depleted, dimethylamine and glycine betaine are consumed rapidly, before methylamine. Glycine betaine extends the range of substrates that can be directly utilized by some methanogens, allowing them to gain energy from the substrate without the need for syntrophic partners.\n          </jats:p>","journal":"Applied and Environmental Microbiology","year":2014,"id":606199,"datarank":0.6535063240034389,"base_score":4.356708826689592,"endowment":4.356708826689592,"self_citation_contribution":0.6535063240034389,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.6535063240034389,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":77,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1556007,"name":"Erwan G. Roussel","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1556008,"name":"R. John Parkes","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1556009,"name":"Henrik Sass","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1556006,"name":"Andrew J. Watkins","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Glycine Betaine as a Direct Substrate for Methanogens (Methanococcoides spp.)","abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title>\n          <jats:p>\n            Nine marine methanogenic\n            <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">Methanococcoides</jats:named-content>\n            strains, including the type strains of\n            <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">Methanococcoides methylutens</jats:named-content>\n            ,\n            <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">M. burtonii</jats:named-content>\n            , and\n            <jats:named-content content-type=\"genus-species\">M. alaskense</jats:named-content>\n            , were tested for the utilization of\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -methylated glycines. Three strains (NM1, PM2, and MKM1) used glycine betaine (\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            ,\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            ,\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -trimethylglycine) as a substrate for methanogenesis, partially demethylating it to\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            ,\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -dimethylglycine, whereas none of the strains used\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            ,\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -dimethylglycine or sarcosine (\n            <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>\n            -methylglycine). Growth rates and growth yields per mole of substrate with glycine betaine (3.96 g [dry weight] per mol) were similar to those with trimethylamine (4.11 g [dry weight] per mol). However, as glycine betaine is only partially demethylated, the yield per methyl group was significantly higher than with trimethylamine. If glycine betaine and trimethylamine are provided together, trimethylamine is demethylated to dimethyl- and methylamine with limited glycine betaine utilization. After trimethylamine is depleted, dimethylamine and glycine betaine are consumed rapidly, before methylamine. Glycine betaine extends the range of substrates that can be directly utilized by some methanogens, allowing them to gain energy from the substrate without the need for syntrophic partners.\n          </jats:p>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":4.356708826689592,"endowment":4.356708826689592,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"24162571","pmcid":"PMC3911008","openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W2067042647","authors":[],"funders":[{"funder_name":"Natural Environment Research Council","grant_id":"NE/F00477X/1","title":"Manganese reduction coupled to the oxidation of ammonium and sulphur - a geochemical curiosity or an important biogeochemical process?"},{"funder_name":"Natural Environment Research Council","grant_id":"NE/F018983/1","title":"Exploring the biodiversity, interactions and controls of prokaryotic communities driving methane flux in marine sediments."},{"funder_name":"European Commission","grant_id":"226354","title":"Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man's Impact on European seas"}],"total_grants":3,"fwci":4.8555,"citation_percentile":0.94809113,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[{"year":2014,"count":7},{"year":2015,"count":4},{"year":2016,"count":7},{"year":2017,"count":3},{"year":2018,"count":2},{"year":2019,"count":8},{"year":2020,"count":7},{"year":2021,"count":4},{"year":2022,"count":9},{"year":2023,"count":10},{"year":2024,"count":8},{"year":2025,"count":7},{"year":2026,"count":1}],"oa_status":"bronze","license":"ASM Journals Non-Commercial TDM","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://aem.asm.org/content/aem/80/1/289.full.pdf","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://aem.asm.org/content/aem/80/1/289.full.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.03076-13","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.03076-13","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24162571","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://hal.science/hal-01144924","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00161/27235/","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/52385/","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/3911008","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.03076-13","host_type":""},{"url":"https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00161/27235/25443.pdf","host_type":""}],"fields_of_study":["Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena","Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies","Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology","0301 basic medicine","0303 health sciences","03 medical and health sciences","Aquatic Organisms","Betaine","Dimethylamines","Energy Metabolism","Methane","Methanosarcinaceae","Methylamines"],"mesh_terms":["Betaine","Dimethylamines","Energy Metabolism","Methane","Methylamines","Methanosarcinaceae","Aquatic Organisms"],"keywords":["Betaine","Trimethylamine","Sarcosine","Euryarchaeota","Glycine","Methylamine","Chemistry","Substrate (aquarium)","Biochemistry","Formate","Biology","Amino acid","Ecology","Archaea","GC","QH301","Aquatic Organisms","Methylamines","Methanosarcinaceae","Energy Metabolism","Methane","Dimethylamines"],"sdg_mappings":[{"sdg_number":3,"sdg_label":"3. Good health"},{"sdg_number":0,"sdg_label":"Life below water"}],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[{"name":"gen"}],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-30T04:05:02.131428Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}