Archaeal nitrification in the ocean

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0600756103
• Publication Date: 2006-08-08T00:40:20Z
• Authors: Cornelia Wuchter; Ben Abbas; Marco J. L. Coolen; Lydie Herfort; Judith van Bleijs...; Peer Timmers; Marc Strous; Eva Teira; Gerhard J. Herndl; Jack J. Middelburg; Stefan Schouten; Jaap S. Sinninghe...
• Keywords: Crenarchaeota; Ammonia monooxygenase; Biogeochemical Cycle; Nitrogen Cycle; Thaumarchaeota

Marine Crenarchaeota are the most abundant single group of prokaryotes in ocean, but their physiology and role marine biogeochemical cycles unknown. Recently, a member this clade was isolated from sea aquarium shown to be capable nitrification, tentatively suggesting that may play oceanic nitrogen cycle. We enriched crenarchaeote North Sea water showed its abundance, not bacteria, correlates with ammonium oxidation nitrite. A time series study revealed abundance gene encoding for archaeal ammonia monooxygenase alfa subunit ( amoA ) is correlated decline concentrations Crenarchaeota. Remarkably, 1–2 orders magnitude higher than those bacterial nitrifiers, which commonly thought mediate nitrite environments. Analysis Atlantic waters upper 1,000 m, where regeneration takes place, crenarchaeotal copy numbers also 1–3 . Our data thus suggest major Archaea nitrification.