Comammox—a newly discovered nitrification process in the terrestrial nitrogen cycle

• Published in: Journal of soils and sediments Vol. 17; no. 12; pp. 2709 - 2717
• Main Authors: Hu, Hang-Wei, He, Ji-Zheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural ecosystems; Agricultural production; agricultural productivity; Ammonia; Archaea; Bacteria; biochemistry; Biogeochemical cycles; Biogeochemistry; China; Differentiation; DNA; Earth and Environmental Science; ecological differentiation; Ecosystems; Environment; Environmental Physics; Forest soils; Frontiers in Soils and Sediments • Review Article; Functional groups; Genomic analysis; genomics; habitats; Kinetics; Labour; Microorganisms; moieties; Niches; nitrates; Nitrification; Nitrites; Nitrogen cycle; nitrogen-fixing bacteria; Nitrospira; Nitrospira (genus); Nucleotide sequence; Organisms; oxidants; Oxidation; Oxidizing agents; PCR; pH effects; Physiology; Prokaryotes; prokaryotic cells; quantitative polymerase chain reaction; Reaction kinetics; Soil; Soil chemistry; Soil pH; soil sampling; Soil Science & Conservation; Specialization; Sustainability; sustainable development; Terrestrial ecosystems; Terrestrial environments; China; Ammonia oxidation; Comammox; Complete nitrification; Nitrite oxidation; Niche separation

Purpose Nitrification, the microbial oxidation of ammonia to nitrate via nitrite, is a pivotal component of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle. Nitrification was conventionally assumed as a two-step process in which ammonia oxidation was thought to be catalyzed by ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and...