Fermentation of methane

From soil and from the plant Elodea, we have isolated an organism which has not, yet been identified; it is a comparatively large Bacillus, which thriven in a medium of mineral salts saturated with a gaseous mixture of 40%, methane (or natural gas), 40% oxygen, 15% nitrogen, and 5% carbon dioxide. The isolated cells have amino acid and vitamin contents comparable to, or, in some cases greater than, those found in such nutrients as yeast, fish meal, or milk solids.