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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Visualizing Methane-Cycling Microbial Dynamics in Coastal Wetlands
Published on: January 31, 2025
Comparative genomic and network analysis of Methanocaldococcus genus reveals genetic diversity and adaptive metabolic
Anfas Muhammed1, Janhavi Tripathi2, Helianthous Verma3
1Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QR United Kingdom.
Abstract:
A detailed comparative genomic analysis was conducted on eight Methanocaldococcus strains, focusing on their phylogeny, metabolic pathways, adaptive traits and biotechnological potential. Functional attributes consists of conserved pathway of methane metabolism alongside variable gene clusters associated with the sulfur and nitrogen cycling. Phylogenomic analyses using Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI), Genome to Genome Distance Calculator (GGDC) and EasyCGTree revealed high genetic variability across the genus, with M. infernus ME and M. indicus SL43 being the most divergent members. CRISPR-Cas and phage analyses showed that the strains consist of a substantial number of CRISPR arrays with diverse spacer sequences. Protein-protein interaction networks were constructed on the methane, suphur and nitrogen metabolic pathway proteins, which highlighted MtrA and Mer proteins as hub-bottleneck proteins of the network. This in-silico study of the genus Methanocaldococcus provides insights that inform future experimental investigations into archaeal metabolism, evolutionary adaptation and extremophile biology.
Supplementary Information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-026-04865-1.
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