Cyanate as an energy source for nitrifiers.

Ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing microorganisms are collectively responsible for the aerobic oxidation of ammonia via nitrite to nitrate and have essential roles in the global biogeochemical nitrogen cycle. The physiology of nitrifiers has been intensively studied, and urea and ammonia are the only recognized energy sources that promote the aerobic growth of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea. Here we report the aerobic growth of a pure culture of the ammonia-oxidizing thaumarchaeote Nitrososphaera gargensis using cyanate as the sole source of energy and reductant; to our knowledge, the first organism known to do so.

Recent Origin of the Methacrylate Redox System in Geobacter sulfurreducens AM-1 through Horizontal Gene Transfer.

The origin and evolution of novel biochemical functions remains one of the key questions in molecular evolution. We study recently emerged methacrylate reductase function that is thought to have emerged in the last century and reported in Geobacter sulfurreducens strain AM-1. We report the sequence and study the evolution of the operon coding for the flavin-containing methacrylate reductase (Mrd) and tetraheme cytochrome с (Mcc) in the genome of G.

Growth of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria by aerobic hydrogen oxidation.

The bacterial oxidation of nitrite to nitrate is a key process of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle. Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria are considered a highly specialized functional group, which depends on the supply of nitrite from other microorganisms and whose distribution strictly correlates with nitrification in the environment and in wastewater treatment plants. On the basis of genomics, physiological experiments, and single-cell analyses, we show that Nitrospira moscoviensis, which represents a widely distributed lineage of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, has the genetic inventory to utilize hydrogen (H2) as an alternative energy source for aerobic respiration and grows on H2 without nitrite.

Enrichment and genome sequence of the group I.1a ammonia-oxidizing Archaeon "Ca. Nitrosotenuis uzonensis" representing a clade globally distributed in thermal habitats.

The discovery of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) of the phylum Thaumarchaeota and the high abundance of archaeal ammonia monooxygenase subunit A encoding gene sequences in many environments have extended our perception of nitrifying microbial communities. Moreover, AOA are the only aerobic ammonia oxidizers known to be active in geothermal environments. Molecular data indicate that in many globally distributed terrestrial high-temperature habits a thaumarchaeotal lineage within the Nitrosopumilus cluster (also called "marine" group I.

Starting up microbial enhanced oil recovery.

This chapter gives the reader a practical introduction into microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) including the microbial production of natural gas from oil. Decision makers who consider the use of one of these technologies are provided with the required scientific background as well as with practical advice for upgrading an existing laboratory in order to conduct microbiological experiments. We believe that the conversion of residual oil into natural gas (methane) and the in situ production of biosurfactants are the most promising approaches for MEOR and therefore focus on these topics.

The genome of the ammonia-oxidizing Candidatus Nitrososphaera gargensis: insights into metabolic versatility and environmental adaptations.

The cohort of the ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) of the phylum Thaumarchaeota is a diverse, widespread and functionally important group of microorganisms in many ecosystems. However, our understanding of their biology is still very rudimentary in part because all available genome sequences of this phylum are from members of the Nitrosopumilus cluster. Here we report on the complete genome sequence of Candidatus Nitrososphaera gargensis obtained from an enrichment culture, representing a different evolutionary lineage of AOA frequently found in high numbers in many terrestrial environments.

Desulfoconvexum algidum gen. nov., sp. nov., a psychrophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from a permanently cold marine sediment.

A sulfate-reducing bacterium, designated JHA1(T), was isolated from a permanently cold marine sediment sampled in an Artic fjord on the north-west coast of Svalbard. The isolate was originally enriched at 4 °C in a highly diluted liquid culture amended with hydrogen and sulfate. Strain JHA1(T) was a psychrophile, growing fastest between 14 and 16 °C and not growing above 20 °C.

Desulfopila inferna sp. nov., a sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from the subsurface of a tidal sand-flat.

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, sulfate-reducing bacterium (strain JS_SRB250Lac(T)) was isolated from a tidal sand-flat in the German Wadden Sea. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain JS_SRB250Lac(T) belonged to the Desulfobulbaceae (Deltaproteobacteria), with Desulfopila aestuarii MSL86(T) being the closest recognized relative (94.2 % similarity).

Anaerobic degradation of naphthalene and 2-methylnaphthalene by strains of marine sulfate-reducing bacteria.

The anaerobic biodegradation of naphthalene, an aromatic hydrocarbon in tar and petroleum, has been repeatedly observed in environments but scarcely in pure cultures. To further explore the relationships and physiology of anaerobic naphthalene-degrading microorganisms, sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were enriched from a Mediterranean sediment with added naphthalene. Two strains (NaphS3, NaphS6) with oval cells were isolated which showed naphthalene-dependent sulfate reduction.

Operation of the CO dehydrogenase/acetyl coenzyme A pathway in both acetate oxidation and acetate formation by the syntrophically acetate-oxidizing bacterium Thermacetogenium phaeum.

Thermacetogenium phaeum is a homoacetogenic bacterium that can grow on various substrates, such as pyruvate, methanol, or H2/CO2. It can also grow on acetate if cocultured with the hydrogen-consuming methanogenic partner Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus. Enzyme activities of the CO dehydrogenase/acetyl coenzyme A (CoA) pathway (CO dehydrogenase, formate dehydrogenase, formyl tetrahydrofolate synthase, methylene tetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase) were detected in cell extracts of pure cultures and of syntrophic cocultures.