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Intestine archaea Methanobrevibacter smithii, SEM
Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Archaea human intestine prokaryote (Methanobrevibacter smithii). Methanobrevibacter smithii is the main human gut (intestine) archeon (from the Archaea domain) that is a methanotroph (methanogen). It recycles the hydrogen in methane and allows for an increase in energy extraction for nutrients. It plays a role in the digestion of polysaccharides (complex sugars) by consuming the end products of bacterial fermentation. The human gut flora consists of three main groups of hydrogen consuming microbes: methanogens; a polyphyletic group of acetogenic bacteria; and sulphate reducing bacteria. Magnification: x5,335 when shortest axis printed at 25 millimetres.
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