Sustained bacterial N<sub>2</sub>O reduction at acidic pH.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38750010.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-48236-x and PMC identifier 11096178.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) is a climate-active gas with emissions predicted to increase due to agricultural intensification. Microbial reduction of N<sub>2</sub>O to dinitrogen (N<sub>2</sub>) is the major consumption process but microbial N<sub>2</sub>O reduction under acidic conditions is considered negligible, albeit strongly acidic soils harbor nosZ genes encoding N<sub>2</sub>O reductase. Here, we study a co-culture derived from acidic tropical forest soil that reduces N<sub>2</sub>O at pH 4.5. The co-culture exhibits bimodal growth with a Serratia sp. fermenting pyruvate followed by hydrogenotrophic N<sub>2</sub>O reduction by a Desulfosporosinus sp. Integrated omics and physiological characterization revealed interspecies nutritional interactions, with the pyruvate fermenting Serratia sp. supplying amino acids as essential growth factors to the N<sub>2</sub>O-reducing Desulfosporosinus sp. Thus, we demonstrate growth-linked N<sub>2</sub>O reduction between pH 4.5 and 6, highlighting microbial N<sub>2</sub>O reduction potential in acidic soils.
Medical subject headings
- Nitrous Oxide
- Soil Microbiology
- Serratia