Advances in high-value resource recovery of greenhouse gases driven by methanotrophic communities

Amid rising global temperatures and accelerating carbon-neutral initiatives, the efficient valorization of greenhouse gases has emerged as a central focus of contemporary research. Microbial metabolism enables the low-cost transformation of methane, which has evolved into a strategic technological reserve for a green and low-carbon future. Methanotrophs, widely distributed across diverse habitats, utilize methane as both a carbon and an energy source. Through key enzymes in their central metabolic pathways, these microorganisms sequentially oxidize CH4 into methanol, formaldehyde, formate, and ultimately to CO2. In synthetic microbial consortia comprising methanotrophs and methylotrophs, inter-species cross-feeding effectively alleviates the accumulation of inhibitory metabolites, improving overall methane conversion efficiency. Beyond regulating the source-sink balance of atmospheric greenhouse gases, methanotrophic consortia also drive the high-value resource utilization of high-concentration CH4 and CO2. Type I, II, and X methanotrophs possess distinct carbon fixation pathways and are capable of synthesizing high-value products such as methanol, single-cell protein (SCP), and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). Investigating their mechanisms and efficient cultivation strategies is conducive to further exploring the potential of methanotrophs in carbon cycling and biomanufacturing. However, the practical application of methanotrophs still faces several challenges, including difficulties in process control, ineffective suppression of byproduct formation, and potential safety concerns associated with the synthesized products. Addressing these bottlenecks is imperative to unlock their full potential for large-scale industrial applications in greenhouse gas mitigation and sustainable biomanufacturing.