''
Candidatus'' Anammoxoglobus propionicus is an
anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) bacteria that is taxonomically in the phylum of
Planctomycetota. ''Anammoxoglobus propionicus'' is an interest to many researchers due to its ability to reduce
nitrite
The nitrite polyatomic ion, ion has the chemical formula . Nitrite (mostly sodium nitrite) is widely used throughout chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The nitrite anion is a pervasive intermediate in the nitrogen cycle in nature. The name ...
and oxidize
ammonium
The ammonium cation is a positively-charged polyatomic ion with the chemical formula or . It is formed by the protonation of ammonia (). Ammonium is also a general name for positively charged or protonated substituted amines and quaternary a ...
into nitrogen gas and water.
Energy source
''Ca.'' A. propionicus obtain their energy from
chemolithoautotrophic A lithoautotroph is an organism which derives energy from reactions of reduced compounds of mineral (inorganic) origin. Two types of lithoautotrophs are distinguished by their energy source; photolithoautotrophs derive their energy from light while ...
processes.
A unique cellular structure that characterizes this species is its
anammoxosome
Anammox, an abbreviation for anaerobic ammonium oxidation, is a globally important microbial process of the nitrogen cycle that takes place in many natural environments. The bacteria mediating this process were identified in 1999, and were a grea ...
. This is where the anaerobic ammonium oxidation reaction occurs. With the following intracellular reaction, they are able to obtain energy and function:
:
Habitat
Anammox bacteria can be found in a wide range of habitats including: soils,
hot springs,
aquifers, lakes, marshes, and low oxygen zones.
''Ca.'' A. propionicus was first identified in laboratory-scale bioreactor in the presence of ammonium and propionate during an experiment in 2006.
Since then it has been enriched in other experiments.
Research and interactions with humans and the environment
Anammox processes are used in wastewater treatment applications and can help with the removal of ammonium in wastewater. ''Ca.'' A. propionicus has a competitive advantage in ammonium-limited natural ecosystems since they can reduce nitrate and/or nitrite to ammonium.
Although anammox bacteria are found in a wide variety of environments, it is not common that multiple anammox bacteria co-exist.
Anammox bacteria are believed to be responsible for up to 50% loss of inorganic nitrogen in the oceans.
This makes them of interest to researchers to better understand global nutrient cycling.
A 2014 experiment enriched ''Ca,'' A. propionicus within a sample of sludge from a
landfill leachate anaerobic treatment system.
Researchers started with an enrichment amount of 1.8 ± 0.6% ''Ca.'' A. propionicus, and after 481 days the observed
fluorescence in situ hybridization
Fluorescence ''in situ'' hybridization (FISH) is a molecular cytogenetic technique that uses fluorescent probes that bind to only particular parts of a nucleic acid sequence with a high degree of sequence complementarity. It was developed b ...
results showed an enrichment amount of 65 ± 5%.
During the process ''Ca.'' A. propionicus removed ammonium (70 mg-N/L) and nitrite (90 mg-N/L) at a stable rate, and the total nitrogen removal efficiency was 95%.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q104850888
Planctomycetota
Candidatus taxa