In the above citied letter to Nature the authors concluded out of their experiments: «Here we demonstrate using stable carbon isotopes that methane is readily formed in situ in terrestrial plants
under oxic conditions by a hitherto unrecognized process.»
Lenski and his student Zachary Blount note that «E. coli cells can not grow on citrate
under oxic conditions, and that inability has long been viewed as a defining characteristic of this important, diverse, and widespread species.»