Methanogenic archaea are chemolithotrophic prokaryotes that can reduce carbon dioxide with hydrogen gas to form methane. These microorganisms make a significant contribution to the global carbon cycle, with methanogenic archaea from anoxic environments estimated to contribute > 500 million tons of global methane annually. Archaeal methanogenesis is dependent on the methanofurans; aminomethylfuran containing coenzymes that act...

Summary In this study, we redesigned and evaluated primers for the class Actinobacteria . In silico testing showed that the primers had a perfect match with 82% of genera in the class Actinobacteria , representing a 26–213% improvement over previously reported primers. Only 4% of genera that displayed mismatches did so in the terminal three bases of the 3′ end, which is most critical for polymerase chain reaction success. The...