Stable Isotope Probing for Detection of Methanotrophs After Enrichment with 13CH4

Methanotrophic bacteria are a physiologically specialized group of microorganisms that can use methane as a sole source of carbon and energy. They can be isolated from a wide range of environments including soil, sediment, peat bogs, and hot springs (1 –4 ), although they are often relatively difficult to maintain in laboratory culture. Characterization of the extant methanotrophs has identified several common features of their taxonomy and biochemical pathway for methane oxidation (reviewed in [5 ]) that are briefly summarized here.