Regulation of osmoadaptation and Na+ homeostasis in Methanosarcina mazei Gö1

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The first genomic sequence of a methylotrophic methanogen, Methanosarcina mazei Gö1, a halotolerant, metabolically versatile and genetically approachable methanogen, has been determined very recently. This offers a completely new strategy to study regulatory networks in methanogens on a global scale. Halotolerant methanogenic archaea accumulate compatible solutes and exclude Na+ from the cytoplasm upon increase of the external salt concentration. Unlike most other organisms, methanogens require a certain intracellular Na+ concentration for metabolic activity. To date, relatively little is known about the physiology of osmoadaptation and Na+ homeostasis, their regulation, their cross talk and cross talks with the regulatory networks involved in substrate utilization. The elucidation of these regulatory networks is the final goal of this project. At first we will concentrate on the elucidation of the physiology and regulation of the osmoresponse and Na+ homeostasis by biochemical and molecular techniques and the identification of the players involved in the networks by proteome analyses.