Methylotrophy is a field of study dealing with microorganisms capable of utilization of compounds devoid of carbon–carbon bonds (C1 compounds). In this review, we highlight several emerging trends in methylotrophy. First, we discuss the significance of the recent discovery of lanthanide-dependent alcohol dehydrogenases for understanding both the occurrence and the distribution of methylotrophy functions among bacteria, and then we discuss the newly appreciated role of lanthanides in biology. Next, we describe the detection of other methylotrophy pathways across novel bacterial taxa and insights into the evolution of methylotrophy. Further, data are presented on the occurrence and activity of aerobic methylotrophs in hypoxic and anoxic environments, questioning the prior assumptions on niche separation of aerobic and anaerobic methylotrophy. The concept of communal function in aerobic methane oxidation is also briefly discussed. Finally, we review recent research in engineering methylotrophs for biotechnological applications as well as recent progress in engineering synthetic methylotrophy.

甲基营养素是涉及能够利用不含碳-碳键的化合物（C1化合物）的微生物的研究领域。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍甲基营养障碍的一些新兴趋势。首先，我们讨论了最近发现的依赖镧系元素的醇脱氢酶对于理解细菌中甲基营养功能的发生和分布的意义，然后讨论了镧系元素在生物学中的新认识。接下来，我们描述了跨新型细菌类群的其他甲基营养障碍途径的检测以及对甲基营养障碍的进化的见解。此外，关于缺氧和缺氧环境中需氧甲基营养菌的发生和活性的数据被提出，质疑了需氧和厌氧甲基营养菌的生态位分离的先前假设。还简要讨论了有氧甲烷氧化中的公共功能概念。最后，我们回顾了用于生物技术应用的工程甲基营养素的最新研究以及工程合成甲基营养素的最新进展。