extremely efficient nitrogen removal via ANAMMOX cells

[boxfishpooalot]

researchers from Bremen and Nijmegen state that this conversion is not carried out by denitrifying bacteria, as was believed for decades, but by anammox bacteria.

Huh!


This discovery has major consequences for our understanding of the global nitrogen cycle

The newly discovered anammox bacteria remove ammonium from the ocean, which as a result can not be taken up anymore by other organisms


http://www.mpi-bremen.de/en/Anammox_Bacteria_produce_Nitrogen_Gas_in_Oceans_Snackbar.html

Box :D

And this one goes into detiails
http://www.microbiology.science.ru.nl/research/nitrogen/

Here is the biochemistry of it:
Based on 15N experiments, we have postulated the following mechanism for anaerobic ammonium oxidation: the anammox bacteria reduce nitrite (NO2-) to hydroxylamine (NH2OH). Next, hydroxylamine and ammonium (NH4+) are condensed to hydrazine (N2H4) and water. Finally, hydrazine is oxidized to dinitrogen gas (N2) and the electrons are used to reduce the next molecule of nitrite

[jdieck]

Well, Could this be the reason why a DSB can still remove nitrates without becoming totally anaerobic?

[Spuds725]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8125507#post8125507 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boxfishpooalot

The newly discovered anammox bacteria

Date of article

18.04.2005

;)

However, this discovery is counter intuitive in our tanks since the starting compound is nitrite which in our tanks is kept at/near 0-- the the nitrite in some type of equilibrium with nitrates??

The fact that the bacteria is present in low oxygen areas just sounds like they discovered the de-nitrifying bacteria ;)

I'd have to read more on the mechanisms occuring (not just a press release)... but might turn the explanations we have ingrained in our skulls on its ear.

[jdieck]

As I understand it in a very simlified form Anamox involves direct oxidation of Ammonia to Nitrogen gas rather than into nitrites then into nitrates and then de-nitrification to nitrogen gas.

[Spuds725]

So do you think the DSBs could be harboring the anamox bacteria and reducing the ammonia directly and in competition with our nitrifying bacteria converting it over to nitrates or is something else going on.... it seems like this would be fairly simple to test in a tank-- set up a tank with a DSB with flow though plumbing (a return off a plenum would work but leave the flow off initially. Feed the nitrogen cycle until the DSB becomes established and nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia are all 0-- then turn on the plenum return so that the DSB becomes a flow through bed removing the low oxygen levels-- if the anamox was present and is killed off by the rising oxygen levels-- and the ammonia jumps up pretty fast, then the anamox was likely present and is no longer converting ammonia over. If the ammonia doesn't increase then the ammonia was likely being consumed in a different way....

Perhaps I'm over simplyfying everything..... sort of thinking out loud....

[Boomer]

Billy these bacteria live in low O2 environments. They are called Faculative Anaerobic Bacteria (FAB). Faculative meaning with or without O2. They prefer low O2 to no O2. Then there are Obligated Anaerobic Bacteria (OBA), meaning 0 O2. They can not live in the presence of O2.

We do not want OBA 's in reef tanks we are looking for FAB's. Most of the denitrification in reef tanks is through FAB's. O2 does not kill FAB's but does kill OBA's. OBA's are mostly the hydrogen sulfide producers

[Spuds725]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8129279#post8129279 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Boomer
Billy

-Y ;)

Gotcha-- thanks for the differentiation...

Do you (or anyone) think the oxidation of ammonia is occuring in our tanks by this mechanism or not-- and if so does anyone think this is predominate or possibly just a parallel mechanism (minor) to our "traditional" explanation of the nitrogen cycle... (I have a good grasp of chemistry but bio-chem makes my eyes glaze over...)

I don't run a DSB in my tank or fuge but do have one in a bucket loop off my sump... just curious what might be going on in there...

Thanks...

Bill (No Y)

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don't really know to what extent this process may be taking place in reef aquaria.

I do think that 99.99999% of discussions of reef aquarium chemistry and biochemical cycles are tremendous oversimplifications of processes that are for more complicated and involve many more reactions and products than are typically discussed.