Methanogenesis was irreversibly inhibited in sediments by concentrations of acetylene employed in nitrogen fixation assays (1 to 20 percent, vol/vol). Ethylene, but not ethane, also stopped methane production, and the inhibition was reversed by gassing with hydrogen.

Lake water samples were observed to transform [¹⁴C]ethylene into water-soluble compounds that were undetectable by conventional acetylene reduction assay procedures. Methane oxidizing bacteria, which are known to be common in freshwaters, appeared to be responsible for this activity. As much as 28% of added ...

Abstract: Sterile samples of plants were taken from Mt. Erebus crater rim and returned to New Zealand for in situ acetylene reduction assays for nitrogen ...

The cause of the failure of the C2H2-C2H4 assay for nitrogen-fixing bacteria growing on lower alkanes was studied. Acetylene was a strong competitive inhibitor of methane oxidation for methane-utilizing bacteria, as well as for the oxidation of lower alkanes by other bacteria, so that energy and reducing power were no longer available for the ...