Unraveling the microbiome of a thermophilic biogas plant by metagenome and metatranscriptome analysis complemented by characterization of bacterial and archaeal isolates

Abstract

One of the most promising technologies to sustainably produce energy and to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from combustion of fossil energy carriers is the anaerobic digestion and biomethanation of organic raw material and waste towards biogas by highly diverse microbial consortia. In this context, the microbial systems ecology of thermophilic industrial-scale biogas plants is poorly understood.