Nitric Oxide: Interaction with the Ammonia Monooxygenase and Regulation of Metabolic Activities in Ammonia Oxidizers

Methods Enzymol (2008) PMID 18423214

The biological nitrogen cycle is a complex interplay of many microorganisms. In the past, oxidation of the inorganic nitrogen compound ammonia by the ammonia oxidizing bacteria was thought to be restricted to oxic environments, and the metabolic flexibility of these organisms seemed to be limited. The discovery of an anaerobic metabolism in the late 1990s showed that these assumptions are no longer valid. NO and NO"2 are essential intermediates in ammonia oxidation. Both gases have wide@?ranging regulatory effects on ammonia oxidation, denitrification, and biofilm formation of the ammonia oxidizing bacteria.