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Anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to ferric iron reduction in the sediment of a eutrophic lake

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Abstract

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to ferric iron reduction (Feammox) has been assumed to play an important role in nitrogen removal from ecosystems. This study assessed the potential role of Feammox in nitrogen transformation in eutrophic lake sediment using an isotope tracing technique in sediment slurry incubation experiments. Feammox was discovered in eutrophic lake sediment. A significant correlation was found between Feammox rates and iron-reducing rates. Furthermore, the positive correlations between the abundance of iron-reducing bacteria (FeRB), such as Geobacteraceae spp. and Shewanella spp., and Feammox rates indicate that Feammox was mediated by FeRB. The potential rate of Feammox in the isotopic tracer incubation treatment was 0.23–0.43 mg N kg−1 day−1. The estimated nitrogen loss caused by Feammox accounts for 5.0–9.2% of the human-induced N input annually into the eutrophic lake. Feammox alone or coupled with anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and/or denitrification may have an essential role in the nitrogen cycle within eutrophic lake sediment.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51609234) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20161089).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Zongbao Yao, Fang Wang, Chunliu Wang, Huacheng Xu & Helong Jiang

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Chunliu Wang

  3. College of Biology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Fang Wang

Authors
  1. Zongbao Yao
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  2. Fang Wang
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  3. Chunliu Wang
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  4. Huacheng Xu
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  5. Helong Jiang
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Correspondence to Helong Jiang.

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Responsible editor: Robert Duran

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Highlights

1. Tracer studies with 15NH4+ manifested the occurrence of Feammox in eutrophic lake sediment.

2. The potential rate of Feammox in the isotopic tracer incubation test was 0.23–0.43 mg N kg−1 day−1.

3. FeRB played a critical role in the microbially catalyzed Feammox process.

4. N2 was the major product of Feammox process in eutrophic lake sediment.

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Yao, Z., Wang, F., Wang, C. et al. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to ferric iron reduction in the sediment of a eutrophic lake. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 15084–15094 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04907-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04907-7

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