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- Title
Nitrite oxidation in the upper water column and oxygen minimum zone of the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean.
- Authors
Beman, J Michael; Leilei Shih, Joy; Popp, Brian N
- Abstract
Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient in the sea and its distribution is controlled by microorganisms. Within the N cycle, nitrite (NO2−) has a central role because its intermediate redox state allows both oxidation and reduction, and so it may be used by several coupled and/or competing microbial processes. In the upper water column and oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) of the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean (ETNP), we investigated aerobic NO2− oxidation, and its relationship to ammonia (NH3) oxidation, using rate measurements, quantification of NO2−-oxidizing bacteria via quantitative PCR (QPCR), and pyrosequencing. 15NO2− oxidation rates typically exhibited two subsurface maxima at six stations sampled: one located below the euphotic zone and beneath NH3 oxidation rate maxima, and another within the OMZ. 15NO2− oxidation rates were highest where dissolved oxygen concentrations were <5 μM, where NO2− accumulated, and when nitrate (NO3−) reductase genes were expressed; they are likely sustained by NO3− reduction at these depths. QPCR and pyrosequencing data were strongly correlated (r2=0.79), and indicated that Nitrospina bacteria numbered up to 9.25% of bacterial communities. Different Nitrospina groups were distributed across different depth ranges, suggesting significant ecological diversity within Nitrospina as a whole. Across the data set, 15NO2− oxidation rates were decoupled from 15NH4+ oxidation rates, but correlated with Nitrospina (r2=0.246, P<0.05) and NO2− concentrations (r2=0.276, P<0.05). Our findings suggest that Nitrospina have a quantitatively important role in NO2− oxidation and N cycling in the ETNP, and provide new insight into their ecology and interactions with other N-cycling processes in this biogeochemically important region of the ocean.
- Subjects
NORTH Pacific Ocean; NITRITES; OXYGEN; MARINE ecology; OXIDATION-reduction reaction; REDUCTASES; BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
- Publication
ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology, 2013, Vol 7, Issue 11, p2192
- ISSN
1751-7362
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/ismej.2013.96