Methanomethylophilus alvi

Methanomethylophilus alvi is a species of methanogenic archaea in the family Methanomethylophilaceae. It is the type and only validly published species of the genus Methanomethylophilus, first isolated from the human gastrointestinal tract and formally described in 2023.^[1]

Methanomethylophilus alvi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Archaea
Phylum:	Thermoplasmatota
Class:	Methanomassiliicoccia
Order:	Methanomassiliicoccales
Family:	Methanomethylophilaceae
Genus:	Methanomethylophilus
Species:	M. alvi
Binomial name
Methanomethylophilus alvi Borrel et al. 2023
Type strain
JF1T (= DSM 116292T, CSUR Q3320T)

Etymology

The species epithet alvi is derived from the Latin genitive form of "alvus", meaning "of the bowels", referencing its intestinal origin.^[1]

Morphology and physiology

M. alvi is a small, coccoid-shaped, archaeon that forms colonies under strictly anaerobic conditions. It performs hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis using methylated compounds such as methanol, monomethylamine, dimethylamine, and trimethylamine as substrates, with molecular hydrogen serving as the electron donor It does not utilize acetate or carbon dioxide/hydrogen. Optimal growth occurs at 37°C, under conditions typical of the human gut microbiome.^[1]