Methylosinus trichosporium
| Methylosinus trichosporium | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: | M. trichosporium |
| Binomial name | |
| Methylosinus trichosporium Bowman et al. 1993 | |
| Type strain | |
| ACM 3311, ATCC 35070, IMET 10541, NCIMB 11131, OB3b, UNIQEM 75, VKM B-2117 | |
Methylosinus trichosporium is an obligate aerobic and methane-oxidizing bacterium species from the genus of Methylosinus. Its native habitat is generally in the soil, but the bacteria has been isolated from fresh water sediments and groundwater as well. Because of this bacterium's ability to oxidize methane, M. trichosporium has been popular for identifying both the structure and function of enzymes involved with methane oxidation since it was first isolated in 1970 by Roger Whittenbury and colleagues. Since its discovery, M. trichosporium and its soluble monooxygenase enzyme have been studied in detail to see if the bacterium could help in bioremediation treatments.