Isolation and characterisation of novel methanogens from corroded oil/gas pipes
Methanogens are microorganisms which produces methane as a major product of their energy metabolism in anaerobic conditions. Methanogens are very common in wetlands and produces marsh gas. They are recently discovered to directly feed on electrons from Fe(0). These microorganism respires carbon dioxide and produces methane. However, it is unknown that these methanogens receive electrons from Fe(0). They also helps in corrosion which in a way is directly lethal to humans.
The implications are remarkable, not only for the prevention of corrosion, but also for extracellular electron transfer processes relevant for many applications such as anaerobic digestion and microbial electrosynthesis for production of valuable chemicals.
Highly corrosive methanogenic strains are not yet discovered but can be isolated and characterised from corroded oil/gas pipes from all over the world using molecular techniques and microbiological experiments along with its characterisation using bio-informatic tools. Initiation of corrosion and its colonisation can be a good subject to work with. The discovery of the promotion of electron uptake from metallic iron can be worthy for human health. Development of new tools against corrosion in corroded oil/gas pipes can be a nobel winning work which may help human health by discouraging microbial attachment and electron retrieval.
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