Ethylene and epoxyethane metabolism in methanotrophic bacteria: comparative genomics and physiological studies using .

The genome of the methanotrophic bacterium strain 10Ki contains a gene cluster that encodes a putative coenzyme-M (CoM)-dependent pathway for oxidation of epoxyethane, based on homology to genes in bacteria that grow on ethylene and propylene as sole substrates. An alkene monooxygenase was not detected in the genome, so epoxyethane is likely produced from co-oxidation of ethylene by the methane monooxygenase enzyme. Similar gene clusters were detected in about 10% of available genomes from aerobic methanotrophic bacteria, primarily strains grown from rice paddies and other wetlands.