Archaea diversity within a commercial biogas plant utilizing herbal biomass determined by 16S rDNA and<i>mcr</i>A analysis

Abstract

This study reports, for the first time, a molecular analysis of the archaeal community in this type of agricultural biogas plants. Therein the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis seems to be the major pathway of methane formation. These results are in contrast with the common thesis that in biogas fermentations the primary substrate for methanogenesis is acetate.