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Denitration
Denitrification is a microbially facilitated process where nitrate (NO3−) is reduced and ultimately produces molecular nitrogen (N2) through a series of intermediate gaseous nitrogen oxide products. Facultative anaerobic bacteria perform denitrification as a type of respiration that reduces oxidized forms of nitrogen in response to the oxidation of an electron donor such as organic matter. The preferred nitrogen electron acceptors in order of most to least thermodynamically favorable include nitrate (NO3−), nitrite (NO2−), nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O) finally resulting in the production of dinitrogen (N2) completing the nitrogen cycle. Denitrifying microbes require a very low oxygen concentration of less than 10%, as well as organic C for energy. Since denitrification can remove NO3−, reducing its leaching to groundwater, it can be strategically used to treat sewage or animal residues of high nitrogen content. Denitrification can leak N2O, which is an ozone-dep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrogen Cycle
The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biological and physical processes. Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation, ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification. The majority of Earth's atmosphere (78%) is atmospheric nitrogen, making it the largest source of nitrogen. However, atmospheric nitrogen has limited availability for biological use, leading to a scarcity of usable nitrogen in many types of ecosystems. The nitrogen cycle is of particular interest to ecologists because nitrogen availability can affect the rate of key ecosystem processes, including primary production and decomposition. Human activities such as fossil fuel combustion, use of artificial nitrogen fertilizers, and release of nitrogen in wastewater have dramatically altered the global nitr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep biosphere of Earth's crust. Bacteria are vital in many stages of the nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients such as the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere. The nutrient cycle includes the decomposition of dead bodies; bacteria are responsible for the putrefaction stage in this process. In the biological communities surrounding hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, extremophile bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds, such as hydrogen sulphide and methane, to energy. Bacteria also live in symbiotic and parasitic relationsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and microbes. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors. External factors such as climate, parent material which forms the soil and topography, control the overall structure of an ecosystem but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrous-oxide Reductase
In enzymology, a nitrous oxide reductase also known as nitrogen:acceptor oxidoreductase (N2O-forming) is an enzyme that catalyzes the final step in bacterial denitrification, the reduction of nitrous oxide to dinitrogen. : N2O + 2 reduced cytochome ''c'' N2 + H2O + 2 cytochrome ''c'' It plays a critical role in preventing release of a potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Function N2O is an inorganic metabolite of the prokaryotic cell during denitrification. Thus, denitrifiers comprise the principal group of N2O producers, with roles played also by nitrifiers, methanotrophic bacteria, and fungi. Among them, only denitrifying prokaryotes have the ability to convert N2O to N2. Conversion of N2O into N2 is the last step of a complete nitrate denitrification process and is an autonomous form of respiration. N2O is generated in the denitrifying cell by the activity of respiratory NO reductase. Some microbial communities have only capability of N2O reduction to N2 and does ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitric-oxide Reductase
Nitric oxide reductase, an enzyme, catalyzes the reduction of nitric oxide (NO) to nitrous oxide (N2O). The enzyme participates in nitrogen metabolism and in the microbial defense against nitric oxide toxicity. The catalyzed reaction may be dependent on different participating small molecules: Cytochrome c (EC: 1.7.2.5, Nitric oxide reductase (cytochrome c)), NADPH (EC:1.7.1.14), or Menaquinone (EC:1.7.5.2). Nomenclature Nitric oxide reductase was assigned Enzyme Commission number (EC) 1.7.2.5. Enzyme Commission numbers are the standard naming system used for enzymes. The EC identifies the class, subclass, sub-subclass, and serial number of the enzyme. Nitric oxide reductase is in Class 1, therefore it is an oxidoreductases. Nitric oxide reductase belongs to the family of oxidoreductases, specifically those acting on other nitrogenous compounds as donors with other acceptors. The systematic name of this enzyme class is nitrous-oxide:acceptor oxidoreductase (NO-forming). O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrite Reductase
Nitrite reductase refers to any of several classes of enzymes that catalyze the reduction of nitrite. There are two classes of NIR's. A multi haem enzyme reduces NO2− to a variety of products. Copper containing enzymes carry out a single electron transfer to produce nitric oxide. Iron based There are several types of iron based enzymes. Cytochrome cd1, or ''Pseudomonas'' cytochrome oxidase contains two c and two d type hemes with two polypeptide chains. Different forms of this reductase catalyze the formation of nitric oxide or nitrous oxide. A version of this compound was originally called oxidoreductase.html"_;"title="errocytochrome_c-551:oxidoreductase">errocytochrome_c-551:oxidoreductase_It_was_initially_considered_an_oxidase.__It_catalyzes_the_reduction_of_NO2−_to_NO.__This_tetraheme_enzyme_has_two_Protein_subunit.html" ;"title="oxidoreductase.html" ;"title="oxidoreductase.html" ;"title="errocytochrome c-551:oxidoreductase">errocytochrome c-551:oxidoreductase">oxido ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrate Reductase
Nitrate reductases are molybdoenzymes that reduce nitrate (NO) to nitrite (NO). This reaction is critical for the production of protein in most crop plants, as nitrate is the predominant source of nitrogen in fertilized soils. Types Eukaryotic Eukaryotic nitrate reductases are part of the sulfite oxidase family of molybdoenzymes. They transfer electrons from NADH or NADPH to nitrate. Prokaryotic Prokaryotic nitrate reductases belong to the DMSO reductase family of molybdoenzymes and have been classified into three groups, assimilatory nitrate reductases (Nas), respiratory nitrate reductase (Nar), and periplasmic nitrate reductases (Nap). The active site of these enzymes is a Mo ion that is bound to the four thiolate functions of two pterin molecules. The coordination sphere of the Mo is completed by one amino-acid side chain and oxygen and/or sulfur ligands. The exact environment of the Mo ion in certain of these enzymes (oxygen versus sulfur as a sixth molybdenum lig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bradyrhizobium Japonicum
''Bradyrhizobium japonicum'' is a species of legume- root nodulating, microsymbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The species is one of many Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria commonly referred to as rhizobia. Within that broad classification, which has three groups, taxonomy studies using DNA sequencing indicate that ''B. japonicum'' belongs within homology group II. Uses Agriculture ''B. japonicum'' is added to legume seed to improve crop yields, particularly in areas where the bacterium is not native (e.g. Arkansas soils). Often the inoculate is adhered to the seeds prior to planting using a sugar solution. Research A strain of ''B. japonicum'', USDA110, has been in use as a model organism since 1957. It is widely used to study molecular genetics, plant physiology, and plant ecology due to its relatively superior symbiotic nitrogen-fixation activity with soybean (i.e. compared to other rhizobia species). Its entire genome was sequenced in 2002, revealing that the spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcaligenes Faecalis
''Alcaligenes faecalis'' is a species of Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria commonly found in the environment. It was originally named for its first discovery in feces, but was later found to be common in soil, water, and environments in association with humans. While opportunistic infections do occur, the bacterium is generally considered nonpathogenic. When an opportunistic infection does occur, it is usually observed in the form of a urinary tract infection. ''A. faecalis'' has been used for the production of Amino acid#Non-standard amino acids, nonstandard amino acids. Description ''A. faecalis'' is a Gram-negative bacterium which appears bacillus (shape), rod-shaped and motile under a microscope. It is positive by the oxidase test and catalase test, but negative by the nitrate reductase test. It is Hemolysis (microbiology), alpha-hemolytic and obligate aerobe, requires oxygen. ''A. faecalis'' can be grown at 37 °C, and forms colonies that lack pigmentation. Metabolis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity and the molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and noncoding genes. During gene expression, the DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. These genes make up different DNA sequences called genotypes. Genotypes along with environmental and developmental factors determine what the phenotypes will be. Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes (many different genes) as well as gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction To Ammonium
Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), also known as nitrate/nitrite ammonification, is the result of anaerobic respiration by chemoorganoheterotrophic microbes using nitrate (NO3−) as an electron acceptor for respiration. In anaerobic conditions microbes which undertake DNRA oxidise organic matter and use nitrate (rather than oxygen) as an electron acceptor, reducing it to nitrite, then ammonium (NO3−→NO2−→NH4+). Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium is more common in prokaryotes but may also occur in eukaryotic microorganisms. DNRA is a component of the terrestrial and oceanic nitrogen cycle. Unlike denitrification, it acts to conserve bioavailable nitrogen in the system, producing soluble ammonium rather than unreactive dinitrogen gas. Background and process Cellular process Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium is a two step process, reducing NO3− to NO2− then NO2− to NH4+, though the reaction may begin with NO2− directly. Each ste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ammonium cations (), where one or more hydrogen atoms are replaced by organic groups (indicated by R). Acid–base properties The ammonium ion is generated when ammonia, a weak base, reacts with Brønsted acids (proton donors): :H+ + NH3 -> H4 The ammonium ion is mildly acidic, reacting with Brønsted bases to return to the uncharged ammonia molecule: : H4 + B- -> HB + NH3 Thus, treatment of concentrated solutions of ammonium salts with strong base gives ammonia. When ammonia is dissolved in water, a tiny amount of it converts to ammonium ions: :H2O + NH3 OH- + H4 The degree to which ammonia forms the ammonium ion depends on the pH of the solution. If the pH is low, the equilibrium shifts to the right: more ammonia molecules are co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
