Overexpression of 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate biosynthesis genes <i>comDE</i> protects methane-producing archaea from oxidative stress

Methanogens are key organisms in the global carbon cycle with potential to be harnessed to produce renewable energy and transportation fuel. Methanogens are strict anaerobes found in subsurface sediment, anaerobic digesters, and digestive tracts of animals such as the rumen. Our results suggest methanogens can adapt to prolonged exposure to oxidative stress under the appropriate environmental conditions, and it may be possible to engineer thiol redox homeostasis and oxidative stress resistance in methanogens. Engineering redox homeostasis and oxidative stress resistance in methanogens and other strict anaerobes has the potential to reduce technical barriers to culturing, thus accelerating research progress on a wide variety of non-model microbes, and ultimately broadening potential biotechnology applications related to sustainable food, fuel, and biomedical uses.