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Methylobacterium extorquens is a Gram-negative bacterium. Since this microbe is Gram-negative, Methylobacterium are often classified as pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophs, or PPFMs. The wild type has been known to use both methane and multiple carbon compounds as energy sources. Specifically, Methylobacterium extorquens has been observed to use primarily methanol and C1 compounds as substrates in their energy cycles.

Genetic Structure
After isolation from soil, Methylobacterium extorquens was found to have a single chromosome measuring 5.71-Mb. The bacterium itself contains 70 genes over eight regions of the chromosome that are used for its metabolism of methanol. Within the AM1 section of the chromosome, M. extorquens contains two xoxF genes that enable it to grow in methanol.

Methylobacterium extorquens has been able to be specifically classified since the AM1 strain has a 47.5 kb gene. This gene encodes an over 15,000 residue-long polypeptide along with three unique compounds that are not expressed. The microbe uses the mxa gene as a way to dehydrogenate methanol and use it as an energy source.

Chemical Usage
Methylobacterium extorquens uses primarily C1 and C2 compounds to grow. Utilizing compounds with few carbon-carbon bonds allows the bacterium to successfully grow in environments with methanol. The ability to use methanol as both a carbon and energy source was show to be advantageous when colonizing Medicago truncatula.

H4MPT-dependent formaldehyde oxidation was first isolated in M. extroquens AM1 and has been used to define if an organism is utilizing methylotrophic metabolism.

Relationships with other Organisms
Many bacteria within the Methylobacterium genus live in different biotic environments such as soils, dust, and plant leaves. Some of these bacteria have been found in symbiotic relationships with the plants they inhabit in which they help with things like fixing nitrogen or production of B12. M. extroquens also produces PhyR which plants use to regulate stress response, allowing the plant to survive in different conditions. In addition to PhyR, the bacterium can produce a hormone related to overall plant and root growth.

M. extroquens has been found having a mutualistic relationship with strawberries. Ultimately, M. extroquens is used to oxidize 1,2-propanediol to lactaldehyde which is later used in chemical reactions. If introduced to blooming plants, furaneol production increases, changing the way the strawberry tastes.