This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sutka, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Li, F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sutka, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Li, F.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Sutka, R. L.
Right arrow Articles by Li, F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2006, p. 638-644, Vol. 72, No. 1
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.1.638-644.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Distinguishing Nitrous Oxide Production from Nitrification and Denitrification on the Basis of Isotopomer Abundances

R. L. Sutka,1* N. E. Ostrom,1 P. H. Ostrom,1 J. A. Breznak,2 H. Gandhi,1 A. J. Pitt,1 and F. Li3

Department of Zoology,1 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan,2 Department of Mathematics, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indiana3

Received 15 June 2005/ Accepted 11 October 2005

The intramolecular distribution of nitrogen isotopes in N2O is an emerging tool for defining the relative importance of microbial sources of this greenhouse gas. The application of intramolecular isotopic distributions to evaluate the origins of N2O, however, requires a foundation in laboratory experiments in which individual production pathways can be isolated. Here we evaluate the site preferences of N2O produced during hydroxylamine oxidation by ammonia oxidizers and by a methanotroph, ammonia oxidation by a nitrifier, nitrite reduction during nitrifier denitrification, and nitrate and nitrite reduction by denitrifiers. The site preferences produced during hydroxylamine oxidation were 33.5 ± 1.2{per thousand}, 32.5 ± 0.6{per thousand}, and 35.6 ± 1.4{per thousand} for Nitrosomonas europaea, Nitrosospira multiformis, and Methylosinus trichosporium, respectively, indicating similar site preferences for methane and ammonia oxidizers. The site preference of N2O from ammonia oxidation by N. europaea (31.4 ± 4.2{per thousand}) was similar to that produced during hydroxylamine oxidation (33.5 ± 1.2{per thousand}) and distinct from that produced during nitrifier denitrification by N. multiformis (0.1 ± 1.7{per thousand}), indicating that isotopomers differentiate between nitrification and nitrifier denitrification. The site preferences of N2O produced during nitrite reduction by the denitrifiers Pseudomonas chlororaphis and Pseudomonas aureofaciens (–0.6 ± 1.9{per thousand} and –0.5 ± 1.9{per thousand}, respectively) were similar to those during nitrate reduction (–0.5 ± 1.9{per thousand} and –0.5 ± 0.6{per thousand}, respectively), indicating no influence of either substrate on site preference. Site preferences of ~33{per thousand} and ~0{per thousand} are characteristic of nitrification and denitrification, respectively, and provide a basis to quantitatively apportion N2O.

* Corresponding author. Present address: Crewe Road, Wythenshawe, Manchester M23 9BE, United Kingdom. Phone: 44-161-902-2100. Fax: 44-161-902-2198. E-mail: Robin.Sutka{at}gvinstruments.co.uk

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2006, p. 638-644, Vol. 72, No. 1
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.1.638-644.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Hernandez-Ramirez, G., Brouder, S. M., Smith, D. R., Van Scoyoc, G. E., Michalski, G. (2009). Nitrous Oxide Production in an Eastern Corn Belt Soil: Sources and Redox Range. Soil Sci. 73: 1182-1191 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hernandez-Ramirez, G., Brouder, S. M., Smith, D. R., Van Scoyoc, G. E. (2009). Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in an Eastern Corn Belt Soil: Weather, Nitrogen Source, and Rotation. J. Environ. Qual. 38: 841-854 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»