Recognize the characteristics associated with methanogenesis

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) or acetic acid (CH₃COOH) are the most commonly used electron acceptor in methanogenesis.
• Microbes capable of producing methane are called methanogens. They have been identified only from the domain Archaea - a group that is phylogenetically distinct from eukaryotes and bacteria.
• The production of methane is an important and widespread form of microbial metabolism. In most environments, it is the final step in the decomposition of biomass.
• Methane is a major greenhouse gas. The average cow emits around 250 liters of methane a day as a result of the breakdown of cellulose by methanogens. Therefore, the large scale raising of cattle for meat is a considerable contributor to global warming.
• cofactor
  A substance, especially a coenzyme or a metal, that must be present for an enzyme to function.
• fermentation
  Any of many anaerobic biochemical reactions in which an enzyme (or several enzymes produced by a microorganism) catalyses the conversion of one substance into another; especially the conversion (using yeast) of sugars to alcohol or acetic acid with the evolution of carbon dioxide.
• methanethiol
  A colourless gas, a thiol with a smell like rotten cabbage, found naturally in plants and animals.