Methanogens: Syntrophic Metabolism

Syntrophy is a mutualistic interaction in which two metabolically different types of microorganisms are linked by the need to keep metabolites exchanged between the two partners at low concentrations to make the overall metabolism of both organisms feasible. In most cases, the cooperation is based on the transfer of hydrogen, formate, or acetate from fermentative bacteria to methanogens to make the degradation of electron-rich substrates thermodynamically favorable. Syntrophic metabolism proceeds at very low Gibbs’ free energy changes, close to the minimum free energy change needed to conserve energy biologically, which is the energy needed to transport one proton across the cytoplasmic membrane. Pathways for syntrophic degradation of fatty acids predict the net synthesis of about one-third of an ATP per round of catabolism. Syntrophic metabolism entails critical oxidation-reduction reactions in which H2 or formate production would be thermodynamically unfavorable unless energy is invested. Molecular insights into the membrane processes involved in ion translocation and reverse electron transport revealed that syntrophs harbor multiple systems for reverse electron transfer. While much evidence supports the interspecies transfer of H2 and formate, other mechanisms of interspecies electron transfer exist including cysteine cycling and possibly direct interspecies electron transfer as electric current via conductive pili or (semi)conductive minerals