An acetogen is a microorganism that generates acetate (CH3COO−) as an end product of anaerobic respiration or fermentation.
Together with methane-forming archaea, acetogens constitute the last limbs in the anaerobic food web that leads to the production of methane from polymers in the absence of oxygen.
[6] One of their metabolic products is acetate which is an important nutrient for the host and its inhabiting microbial community, most seen in termite's guts.
[7] Acetogens can use and convert alcohols, lactates and fatty acids, which are usually restricted to syntrophs, instead of just carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
[7] Acetogens can work together with methanogens, as exemplified by the conversion of carbohydrates by a Methanosarcina barkeri and coculture of A. woodii.