Logo image
Back
Ammonia oxidation and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea from estuaries with differing histories of hypoxia
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Ammonia oxidation and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea from estuaries with differing histories of hypoxia

Jane M. Caffrey, Nasreen Bano, Karen Kalanetra and James T. Hollibaugh
International Society for Microbial Ecology, Vol.1, pp.660-662
1
2007
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2007.79
PMID: 18043673
Web of Science ID: WOS:000250894300009

Metrics

66 Record Views
285 Times Cited - Web of Science

Abstract

Nitrification, the oxidation of NH₄⁺ to NO₂⁻ and subsequently to NO₃⁻ , plays a central role in the nitrogen cycle and is often a critical first step in nitrogen removal from estuarine and coastal environments. The first and rate-limiting step in nitrification is catalyzed by the enzyme ammonia monooxygenase (AmoA). We evaluate the relationships between the abundance of ammoniaoxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) amoA genes; potential nitrification rates and environmental variables to identify factors influencing AOA abundance and nitrifier activity in estuarine sediments. Our results showed that potential nitrification rates increased as abundance of AOA amoA increased. In contrast, there was no relationship between potential nitrification rates and AOB amoA abundance. This suggests that AOA are significant in estuarine nitrogen cycling. Surprisingly, more of the variability in potential nitrification rates was predicted by salinity and pore water sulfide than by dissolved oxygen history.

Details

Logo image