Abstract
Microbial denitrification is an essential component of the nitrogen cycle and occurs extensively in the estuarine, coastal and marine ecosystems. Denitrifying organisms are unique because they are facultative and can switch between aerobic and anaerobic modes of respiration by utilizing nitrogen oxides as electron acceptors via a series of reductases under conditions of oxygen limitation and nitrate availability. Oxygen plays a regulatory role in aerobic denitrification and controls the electron transport to oxygen or nitrate. Denitrifiers are ubiquitously distributed encompassing a wide array of microorganisms ranging from bacteria and archaebacteria to fungi and foraminifers. Techniques like terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, functional single-cell isolation method and fluorescent in situ hybridization have provided new insights into the community structure and functioning of these organisms. Pseudomonas, Paracoccus and Alcaligenes are among the most frequently isolated and studied denitrifying bacterial genera. Denitrification acts as an important feedback mechanism and on a global scale has critical impacts on the Earth’s climate. The process operates as a nitrogen sink in estuaries and controls marine biological productivity. The recently discovered anoxic ammonia oxidation process or anammox, which is greatly responsible for the loss of fixed nitrogen in the oxygen minimum zones in the marine system, is also dependent on denitrification for its nitrite. Denitrification also contributes to significant consequences in global warming and hydrocarbon bioremediation.
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de Sousa, T., Bhosle, S. (2012). Microbial Denitrification and Its Ecological Implications in the Marine System. In: Satyanarayana, T., Johri, B. (eds) Microorganisms in Environmental Management. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2229-3_30
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