New publication in Nature Communications: Comammox produces little N2O
Physiological studies with the only comammox pure culture Nitrospira inopinata revealed that it tightly controls its aerobic NO production and releases much less N2O than ammonia-oxidizing proteobacteria. Furthermore, Dimitri Kits, Man-Young Jung together with other members of the nitrification research groups led by Holger Daims and Michael Wagner show in this publication that the NO scavenger inhibits comammox bacteria and should not longer be used as AOA specific inhibitor (it is also cytotoxic to members of the genus Nitrospira at higher concentrations). Shifting nitrifying microbial communities in wastewater treatment plants or agricultural soils to higher comammox abundances might help reducing nitrous oxide emissions from these systems.
