Microorganisms and artificial ecosystems for the production of protein, food, and useful co-products from C1 substrates

A feed, nutritional, or fertilizer product comprising biomass, protein or one or more biological nutrients produced by Cupriavidus microorganisms,

• wherein said biological nutrients are produced in a method that comprises the capture and conversion of inorganic or organic molecules that contain only one carbon atom into organic molecules that contain two or more carbon atoms, and into biomass by said Cupriavidus microorganisms, wherein said method comprises:
• a) introducing a gaseous substrate into an environment comprising Cupriavidus microorganisms, wherein said environment is suitable for culturing said Cupriavidus microorganisms, and wherein said gaseous substrate comprises a carbon source selected from the group consisting of an inorganic molecule comprising only one carbon atom, an organic molecule comprising only one carbon atom, and a combination thereof;
• b) introducing a nitrogen source selected from the group consisting of ammonia, ammonium, urea, nitrate, and a combination thereof, into said environment, thereby producing said biomass, protein and one or more biological nutrients;
• wherein said Cupriavidus microorganisms chemoautotrophically convert the carbon source via at least one chemosynthetic carbon-fixing reaction and at least one anabolic biosynthetic pathway into said organic molecules and into chemoautotrophically produced biomass of Cupriavidus microorganisms that comprises said organic molecules, and wherein said chemoautotrophically produced biomass of Cupriavidus microorganisms comprises protein in a quantity that is greater than 60% of the total cell mass,
• wherein the at least one chemosynthetic carbon-fixing reaction and the at least one anabolic biosynthetic pathway are at least partially driven by chemical and/or electrochemical energy provided by electron donors and electron acceptors that have been generated chemically, electrochemically, thermochemically, are introduced into the environment from at least one source external to the environment, and combinations thereof, and
• wherein said organic molecules and said chemoautotrophically produced biomass of Cupriavidus microorganisms comprise biological nutrients capable of feeding, providing nutrition to, or fertilizing one or more other organisms.