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Denitrification by Obligate and Facultative Autotrophs

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Autotrophic Microbiology and One-Carbon Metabolism

Part of the book series: Advances in Autotrophic Microbiology and One-Carbon Metabolism ((AMOC,volume 1))

Abstract

Denitrification is the use of nitrate, nitrite or the other nitrogen oxides as terminal electron acceptors in bacterial respiration. The end product is generally N2, although a few species appear to terminate at N2O (Gayon & Dupetit 1882;. Payne 1981; Stouthamer 1988a; 1988b). Some organisms can only convert nitrate to nitrite, a process known as nitrate respiration, although many (e.g. Escherichia coli and Proteus mirablis) can then reduce the nitrite to ammonia (Cole 1987; Cole & Brown 1980). This last is generally termed dissimilatory nitrate reduction in order to distinguish it from denitrification, where nitrogen is actually lost. In many organisms, the primary role of dissimilatory nitrate reduction is to serve as an additional sink for electrons during fermentative metabolism.

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  1. Kluyver Laboratory for Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Lesley A. Robertson & J. Gijs Kuenen

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  1. Lesley A. Robertson
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  2. J. Gijs Kuenen
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  1. The University, Dundee, Scotland

    Geoff A. Codd

  2. University of Groningen, The Netherlands

    Lubbert Dijkhuizen

  3. Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    F. Robert Tabita

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Robertson, L.A., Kuenen, J.G. (1990). Denitrification by Obligate and Facultative Autotrophs. In: Codd, G.A., Dijkhuizen, L., Tabita, F.R. (eds) Autotrophic Microbiology and One-Carbon Metabolism. Advances in Autotrophic Microbiology and One-Carbon Metabolism, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1978-5_4

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