Hydrazines as Substrates and Inhibitors of the Archaeal Ammonia Oxidation Pathway.

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) perform key steps in the global nitrogen cycle, the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite. While the ammonia oxidation pathway is well characterized in AOB, many knowledge gaps remain about the metabolism of AOA. Hydroxylamine is an intermediate in both AOB and AOA, but homologues of hydroxylamine dehydrogenase (HAO), catalyzing bacterial hydroxylamine oxidation, are absent in AOA.

Purification and Characterization of the Isoprene Monooxygenase from sp. Strain AD45.

Isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) is a climate-active gas released to the atmosphere in large quantities, comparable to methane in magnitude. Several bacteria have been isolated which can grow on isoprene as a sole carbon and energy source, but very little information is available about the degradation of isoprene by these bacteria at the biochemical level. Isoprene utilization is dependent on a multistep pathway, with the first step being the oxidation of isoprene to epoxy-isoprene.