Sustained bacterial N 2 O reduction at acidic pH

He, Guang; Chen, Gao; Xie, Yongchao; Swift, Cynthia M.; Ramirez, Diana; Cha, Gyuhyon; Konstantinidis, Konstantinos T.; Radosevich, Mark; Löffler, Frank E.

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-48236-x

DOE OSTI · 2471421

Sustained bacterial N 2 O reduction at acidic pH

He, Guang·Chen, Gao·Xie, Yongchao·Swift, Cynthia M.·Ramirez, Diana·Cha, Gyuhyon·Konstantinidis, Konstantinos T.·Radosevich, Mark·Löffler, Frank E.

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Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a climate-active gas with emissions predicted to increase due to agricultural intensification. Microbial reduction of N 2 O to dinitrogen (N 2 ) is the major consumption process but microbial N 2 O reduction under acidic conditions is considered negligible, albeit strongly acidic soils harbor nosZ genes encoding N 2 O reductase. Here, we study a co-culture derived from acidic tropical forest soil that reduces N 2 O at pH 4.5. The co-culture exhibits bimodal growth with a Serratia sp. fermenting pyruvate followed by hydrogenotrophic N 2 O reduction by a Desulfosporosinus sp. Integrated omics and physiological characterization revealed interspecies nutritional interactions, with the pyruvate fermenting Serratia sp. supplying amino acids as essential growth factors to the N 2 O-reducing Desulfosporosinus sp. Thus, we demonstrate growth-linked N 2 O reduction between pH 4.5 and 6, highlighting microbial N 2 O reduction potential in acidic soils.

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He, Guang, Chen, Gao, Xie, Yongchao, Swift, Cynthia M., Ramirez, Diana, Cha, Gyuhyon, Konstantinidis, Konstantinos T., Radosevich, Mark, Löffler, Frank E.. 2024-05-15. Sustained bacterial N 2 O reduction at acidic pH. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48236-x

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