ABSTRACT
Methanosphaera stadtmanae
was the sole
Methanosphaera
representative to be cultured and detected by molecular methods in the human gut microbiota, further associated with digestive and respiratory diseases, leaving unknown the actual diversity of human-associated
Methanosphaera
species. Here, a novel
Methanosphaera
species,
Candidatus
Methanosphaera massiliense (
Ca
. M. massiliense) sp. nov. was isolated by culture using a hydrogen- and carbon dioxide-free medium from one human feces sample.
Ca
. M. massiliense is a non-motile, 850 nm Gram-positive coccus autofluorescent at 420 nm. Whole-genome sequencing yielded a 29.7% GC content, gapless 1,785,773 bp genome sequence with an 84.5% coding ratio, encoding for alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases promoting the growth of
Ca
. M. massiliense without hydrogen. Screening additional mammal and human feces using a specific genome sequence-derived DNA-polymerase RT-PCR system yielded a prevalence of 22% in pigs, 12% in red kangaroos, and no detection in 149 other human samples. This study, extending the diversity of
Methanosphaera
in human microbiota, questions the zoonotic sources of
Ca
. M. massiliense and possible transfer between hosts.
IMPORTANCE
Methanogens are constant inhabitants in the human gut microbiota in which
Methanosphaera stadtmanae
was the only cultivated
Methanosphaera
representative. We grew
Candidatus
Methanosphaera massiliense sp. nov. from one human feces sample in a novel culture medium under a nitrogen atmosphere. Systematic research for methanogens in human and animal fecal samples detected
Ca
. M. massiliense in pig and red kangaroo feces, raising the possibility of its zoonotic acquisition. Host specificity, source of acquisition, and adaptation of methanogens should be further investigated.