Direct Methane Oxidation by Copper- and Iron-Dependent Methane Monooxygenases

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change and is primarily regulated in Nature by methanotrophic bacteria, which consume methane gas as their source of energy and carbon, first by oxidizing it to methanol. The direct oxidation of methane to methanol is a chemically difficult transformation, accomplished in methanotrophs by complex methane monooxygenase (MMO) enzyme systems. These enzymes use iron or copper metallocofactors and have been the subject of detailed investigation. While the structure, function, and active site architecture of the copper-dependent particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) have been investigated extensively, its putative quaternary…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Award: DE-SC0016284
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: T32GM105538, R35GM118035, F31ES034283
• NI
  National Institute of General Medical Sciences

  Award: R35GM118035
• NI
  National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

  Award: F31ES034283
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences

  Award: DE-SC0016284