%0 Journal Article %9 journal article %J Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences %@ 1230-1388 %V 22 %N 1 %D 2013 %F Zeit2013 %T Inhibitory effects of saturated fatty acids on methane production by methanogenic Archaea %X The present study investigated the inhibitory effects of saturated fatty acids on methanogenesis in Archaea , and whether or not competitive inactivation of the methanogens’ coenzyme M (HS-CoM) is involved in the inhibition. Strains tested in batch cultures were Methanosarcina barkeri , Methanosarcina mazei , Methanococcus voltae , all incubated at 37°C, and Methanothermobacter thermoautotrophicus , incubated at 65°C. The fatty acids C 10 , C 12 , C 14 and C 18 were supplemented at 1 mg · ml –1 in cultivation medium. The methanogens were susceptible to C 10 and C 12 , and less so to C 14 . Only M. thermoautotrophicus was affected by C 18 . In M. mazei cultures, excessive HS-CoM did not prevent the action of C 14 which might suggest that competitive inhibition of HS-CoM is not the reason for the SFA-induced effect on methanogenesis. The results indicate that, as a prerequisite to inhibit methanogenesis in Archaea , medium- and long-chain saturated fatty acids have to be at least partially molten. %A Zeit, J. O. %A Bucher, S. %A Zhou, X. %A Meile, L. %A Kreuzer, M. %A Soliva, C. R. %P 44-49 %R 10.22358/jafs/66015/2013 %U https://doi.org/10.22358/jafs/66015/2013