Definition of "methanogen" []

• Any of various archaea that are capable of producing methane from the decomposition of organic material. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The Mars methane release would, in this scenario, occur when the right climatic conditions arrive for an explosion of the methanogen population, or it could come from a melting of surface ice that then allows subterranean, bacteria-produced methane to escape."
• "The process produces hydrogen, which is then converted into methane by methanogen enzymes."
• "Depth related diversity of methanogen Archaea in Finnish oligotrophic fen."