Interactions of anaerobic ammonium oxidizers and sulfide-oxidizing bacteria in a substrate-limited model system mimicking the marine environment.

Abstract

In nature anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and denitrification processes convert fixed nitrogen to gaseous nitrogen compounds, which are then released to the atmosphere. While anammox bacteria produce N2 from ammonium and nitrite, in the denitrification process nitrate and nitrite are converted to N2 and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Furthermore, nitrite needed by the anammox bacteria can be supplied by nitrate reduction to nitrite. Consequently, the interplay between nitrogen-transforming microorganisms control the amount of harmless N2 or the greenhouse gas N2O released to the atmosphere. Therefore, it is important to understand the interactions of these microorganisms in the natural environment, where dynamic conditions result in fluctuating substrate concentrations. Here, we studied the interactions between the sulfide-oxidizing denitrifier Sedimenticola selenatireducens and the anammox bacterium Scalindua brodae in a bioreactor mimicking the marine environment by creating sulfide, ammonium and nitrate limitation in distinct operational phases. Through a microbial interaction, Se. selenatireducens reduced nitrate to nitrite, which together with the supplied ammonium was converted to N2 by Sc. Brodae. Using comparative transcriptomics, we determined that Sc. Brodae and Se. selenatireducens had significant responses to ammonium and nitrate limitation, respectively, indicating that the activities of these microorganisms are regulated by different nitrogen compounds.