These methane-consuming bacteria could be the future of fuel

Credit: Northwestern University.

New discovery illuminates how bacteria turn methane gas into liquid methanol.

Known for their ability to remove methane from the environment and convert it into usable fuel, methanotrophic bacteria have long fascinated researchers.




“The identity and structure of the metal ions responsible for catalysis have remained elusive for decades,” said Northwestern’s Amy C. Rosenzweig, co-senior author of the study. “Our study provides a major leap forward in understanding how bacteria perform the methane-to-methanol conversion.”

“By identifying the type of copper center involved, we have laid the foundation for determining how nature carries out one of its most challenging reactions,” said Brian M. Hoffman, co-senior author.

The study was published in the journal Science.

By oxidizing methane and converting it to methanol, methanotrophic bacteria (or “methanotrophs”) can pack a one-two punch.

Not only are they removing harmful greenhouse gas from the environment, but they are also generating a readily usable, sustainable fuel for automobiles, electricity and more.


“While copper sites are known to catalyze methane-to-methanol conversion in human-made materials, methane-to-methanol catalysis at a monocopper site under ambient conditions is unprecedented,” said Matthew O. Ross, a graduate student co-advised by Rosenzweig and Hoffman and the paper’s first author.


Written by Amanda Morris.