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Biosynthesis of hydrazine from ammonium and hydroxylamine using an anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacterium

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Abstract

Objectives

To synthesize hydrazine (N2H4) from ammonium and hydroxylamine (NH2OH) using an anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacterium, Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis.

Results

K. stuttgartiensis cells were anoxically cultivated with the addition of ammonium (2 mM) and NH2OH (1–100 mM) at pH 6–10.5, and 4–65 °C to examine the favorable cultivation conditions for N2H4 production. The influence of NH2OH concentration was more prominent than that of pH and temperature, and NH2OH concentration higher than 1 mM deteriorated N2H4 yields significantly. The following conditions were found to be favorable for N2H4 production using K. stuttgartiensis cells: pH 9, 38 °C, and < 1 mM NH2OH. In a continuous-feed system operated at these conditions, K. stuttgartiensis cells produced N2H4 with a maximum concentration of 0.65 mM, which is the highest N2H4 concentration previously reported in biological processes.

Conclusions

Optimal cultivation conditions for K. stuttgartiensis for N2H4 production were successfully determined, and the present study is the first to document potential biological N2H4 production using anammox bacteria.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Nos. 19K05805, 17K15305, 16H02371, and 16H04442); the Steel Foundation for Environmental Protection Technology (Grant No. Water quality-21); and 1st IMRA JAPAN award. Part of this work was conducted at the Chitose Institute of Science and Technology, supported by the Nanotechnology Platform Program (Molecule and Material Synthesis) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Nagaoka College, 888 Nishikatakaimachi, Nagaoka, Niigata, 940-8532, Japan

    Mamoru Oshiki, Koshiro Yamada & Nobuo Araki

  2. Department of Applied Chemistry and Bioscience, Chitose Institute of Science and Technology, 758-65 Bibi, Chitose, Hokkaido, 066-8655, Japan

    Itsuki Kato, Kento Okoshi & Toshiro Imai

  3. Department of Science of Technology Innovation, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1 Kamitomioka, Nagaoka, Niigata, 940-2188, Japan

    Takashi Yamaguchi

Authors
  1. Mamoru Oshiki
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  2. Koshiro Yamada
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  3. Itsuki Kato
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  4. Kento Okoshi
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  5. Toshiro Imai
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  6. Takashi Yamaguchi
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  7. Nobuo Araki
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation was performed by MO, IK, KO, and TI. Data collection and analysis were performed by MO and KY. The first draft of the manuscript was written by MO and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mamoru Oshiki.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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This study does not include any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Oshiki, M., Yamada, K., Kato, I. et al. Biosynthesis of hydrazine from ammonium and hydroxylamine using an anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacterium. Biotechnol Lett 42, 979–985 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-020-02865-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-020-02865-6

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