Electron transport chain (ETCh) of ammonium (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) participates in oxidation of ammonium to nitrate (nitrification). Operation of ETCh may be perturbed by a range of water-soluble xenobiotics. Therefore, consortia of nitrifying bacteria may be used as a biosensor to detect water contamination. A surprising feature of this system is an increase of oxygen consu...

The first step of nitrification, the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite, can be performed by ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) or ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). We investigated the presence of these two groups in three structurally different types of coastal microbial mats that develop along the tidal gradient on the North Sea beach of the Dutch barrier island Schiermonnikoog. The abundance and ...

In this work, the identification of two microbial degradation products of the antimicrobial trimethoprim (290 Da) is described. The structural elucidation of the metabolites, which were produced by nitrifying activated sludge bacteria in a small-scale laboratory batch reactor, was accomplished by electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry conducting consecutive fragmentation steps (MS(n...

Natural or engineered microbial populations often show variations over time. These variations may be due to environmental fluctuations or intrinsic factors. Thus, studying the dynamics of microbial diversity for different communities living in a spatially homogeneous landscape is of interest. As a model ecosystem, nitrifying biofilm communities were grown in a two litre inverse turbulent bed re...

In this work, a simple, safe and rapid method for enumerating nitrifying bacteria was used as an alternative to traditional harmful chemical methods. The enumeration of nitrifying bacteria was based upon the change of color of the growth media containing pH indicators in response to acid production during nitrification. The oxidation of ammonia to strong acids by nitrifiers leads to pH decrease...

In this present study the population dynamics of the soil bacteria of some coastal villages, namely Padima, Jatimati, Chanpabani, Palsandapur, Bhagibaharampur, Duttapur, Gangadharpur, Gobindabasan, Somaibasan of Digha, West Bengal, India, was determined. In these villages the aerobic heterotrophic, Gram-negative, spore-forming, starch-hydrolyzing, Pseudomonas, nitrate-reducing, denitrifying, as...

The components of the proton motive force (Deltap), namely, membrane potential (Deltapsi) and transmembrane pH gradient (DeltapH), were determined in the nitrifying bacteria Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrobacter agilis. In these bacteria both Deltapsi and DeltapH were dependent on external pH. Thus at pH 8.0, Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrobacter agilis had Deltapsi values of 173 mV and 125 mV ...

Different groups of microorganisms are present in mangrove areas, and they perform complex interactions for nutrient and ecological balances. Since little is known about microbial populations in mangroves, this study analyzed the microbial community structure and function in relation to soil physico-chemical properties in Bhitarkanika, a tropical mangrove ecosystem in India. Spatial and seasona...