Methylocucumis oryzae

About Methylocucumis oryzae: 

• It is a bacterium which exists in nature in abundance in wetlands and rice fields.
• It had a characteristic oval and elongated shape, similar to that of a cucumber, and hence the name ‘methane eating cucumbers’ was given to this novel genus.
• Features
  • It is found to be important methanotroph components.
  • It has a remarkably large size compared to other bacteria and is equal to the size of a small yeast (3-6 µm).
  • Another unique feature of this bacterium is that it has a strict mesophilic nature and cannot grow above 37ºC while most of the other methanotrophs can tolerate or grow at 37ºC or even at 40ºC.
  • The bacterium forms light pale pink colored colonies, and the genome is indicative of a carotenoid pathway.
  • In recent years, this methanotroph was also found to promote the growth of rice plants by inducing early flowering and increased grain yield.
• The current constraints with Methylocucumis are slow growth which limits growing this culture on a larger scale, needed for mitigation and biotechnological applications.

What are methanotrophs?

• Methanotrophs or methane oxidizing bacteria oxidize this methane and build up their biomass, breathing oxygen and producing CO2 and H2O as we do.
• These are natural methane mitigating agents and are present in all the environments where methane and oxygen both are available.
• Habitat: Wetlands, rice fields, ponds and other water bodies are the habitats where these grow in abundance.

Q1: What is Methane?

It is a colorless odorless gas, flammable water insoluble gas. It is also known as marsh gas or methyl hydride.It is easily ignited. The vapors are lighter than air. Under prolonged exposure to fire or intense heat the containers may rupture violently and rocket.

Source: India can bank on its own natural methane mitigator to tackle climate challenges