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

A feed, nutritional, or fertilizer product comprising protein produced by Xanthobacter microorganisms,

• wherein said protein is produced in a method that comprises chemoautotrophic capture and conversion of a carbon source by said Xanthobacter microorganisms into biomass comprising protein, and wherein said method comprises:
• (a) introducing a gaseous substrate into an environment comprising Xanthobacter microorganisms, wherein said environment is suitable for culturing said Xanthobacter microorganisms, and wherein said gaseous substrate comprises said 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,
• wherein said Xanthobacter microorganisms chemoautotrophically convert the carbon source via at least one chemosynthetic carbon-fixing reaction and at least one anabolic biosynthetic pathway into said chemoautotrophically produced biomass of Xanthobacter microorganisms, and wherein said chemoautotrophically produced biomass of Xanthobacter microorganisms comprises protein in a quantity that is greater than 10% 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, and/or thermochemically, and/or which are introduced into the environment from at least one source external to the environment, wherein said electron acceptors comprise O2, and
• wherein protein produced by said Xanthobacter microorganisms comprises biological nutrients capable of feeding, providing nutrition to, or fertilizing one or more other organisms;
• and
• (b) recovering said biomass from said environment, and processing the biomass into the feed, nutritional, or fertilizer product comprising protein produced by Xanthobacter microorganisms.