Low yield and abiotic origin of N2O formed by the complete nitrifier Nitrospira inopinata

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<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Nitrous oxide (N<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O) and nitric oxide (NO) are atmospheric trace gases that contribute to climate change and affect stratospheric and ground-level ozone concentrations. Ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) are key players in the nitrogen cycle and major producers of N<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O and NO globally. However, nothing is known about N<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O and NO production by the recently discovered and widely distributed complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox). Here, we show that the comammox bacterium <jats:italic>Nitrospira inopinata</jats:italic> is sensitive to inhibition by an NO scavenger, cannot denitrify to N<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O, and emits N<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O at levels that are comparable to AOA but much lower than AOB. Furthermore, we demonstrate that N<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O formed by <jats:italic>N. inopinata</jats:italic> formed under varying oxygen regimes originates from abiotic conversion of hydroxylamine. Our findings indicate that comammox microbes may produce less N<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O during nitrification than AOB.</jats:p>

Journal

  • Nature Communications

    Nature Communications 10 (1), 1836-, 2019-04-23

    Springer Science and Business Media LLC

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