[Database] Methanogenic archaea research is challenged by limited strain resources, fragmented genomic data, inconsistent genome quality, substantial uncultured lineages, and difficulties in laboratory culturing, hindering advances in biogas production, climate mitigation, and microbial ecology.
These archaea play crucial roles in global carbon cycling and anaerobic environments, yet scattered data and unculturable strains limit systematic studies and applications.
To address this, we created MethArDB (Methanogenic Archaeal Genome Database), a specialized database for methanogenic archaea, compiling 3919 genomes, 87 host-associated plasmids, and 42 phages, with standardized quality classifications (complete, scaffold, draft), protein sequences, and metadata on geography, habitats, metabolism, and inheritable elements.
Integrated MethArCT (Methanogenic Archaeal Culturomics Toolkit) employs a dual-threshold orthologous/paralogous protein analysis to evaluate metabolic pathway completeness, predicting cultivation parameters and suggesting candidate cultivation strategies, including potential medium formulations and conditions, to support strain isolation.
Overall, MethArDB and MethArCT form an integrated platform combining genomics and culturomics to facilitate methanogenic archaea research.
Database URL: http://methardb.cn
The genome, plasmid, and phage resources in MethArDB. (A) Geographic distribution of environmental sources for 2150 methanogenic archaea genomes. (B) Kernel density estimation (KDE) plot of the geographic distribution of complete methanogenic archaeal genomes. (C) Pie chart showing the environmental sources of complete methanogenic archaeal genomes. (D) Summary of genomes included in MethArDB. (E) Summary of plasmids and phages included in MethArDB. — Database
An integrated culturomic and genomic database and analysis platform for methanogenic archaea, Database (open access)
Astrobiology, Genomics,
