Oxygen at Nanomolar Levels Reversibly Suppresses Process Rates and Gene Expression in Anammox and Denitrification in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Northern Chile

A major percentage (20 to 40%) of global marine fixed-nitrogen loss occurs in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). Concentrations of O[subscript 2] and the sensitivity of the anaerobic N[subscript 2]-producing processes of anammox and denitrification determine where this loss occurs. We studied experimental...

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Main Authors: Dalsgaard, Tage, Stewart, Frank J., Thamdrup, Bo, De Brabandere, Loreto, Revsbech, Niels Peter, Ulloa, Osvaldo, Canfield, Don E., DeLong, Edward
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/94322
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author Dalsgaard, Tage
Stewart, Frank J.
Thamdrup, Bo
De Brabandere, Loreto
Revsbech, Niels Peter
Ulloa, Osvaldo
Canfield, Don E.
DeLong, Edward
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dalsgaard, Tage
Stewart, Frank J.
Thamdrup, Bo
De Brabandere, Loreto
Revsbech, Niels Peter
Ulloa, Osvaldo
Canfield, Don E.
DeLong, Edward
author_sort Dalsgaard, Tage
collection MIT
description A major percentage (20 to 40%) of global marine fixed-nitrogen loss occurs in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). Concentrations of O[subscript 2] and the sensitivity of the anaerobic N[subscript 2]-producing processes of anammox and denitrification determine where this loss occurs. We studied experimentally how O[subscript 2] at nanomolar levels affects anammox and denitrification rates and the transcription of nitrogen cycle genes in the anoxic OMZ off Chile. Rates of anammox and denitrification were reversibly suppressed, most likely at the enzyme level. Fifty percent inhibition of N[subscript 2] and N[subscript 2]O production by denitrification was achieved at 205 and 297 nM O[subscript 2], respectively, whereas anammox was 50% inhibited at 886 nM O2. Coupled metatranscriptomic analysis revealed that transcripts encoding nitrous oxide reductase (nosZ), nitrite reductase (nirS), and nitric oxide reductase (norB) decreased in relative abundance above 200 nM O[subscript 2]. This O[subscript 2] concentration did not suppress the transcription of other dissimilatory nitrogen cycle genes, including nitrate reductase (narG), hydrazine oxidoreductase (hzo), and nitrite reductase (nirK). However, taxonomic characterization of transcripts suggested inhibition of narG transcription in gammaproteobacteria, whereas the transcription of anammox narG, whose gene product is likely used to oxidatively replenish electrons for carbon fixation, was not inhibited. The taxonomic composition of transcripts differed among denitrification enzymes, suggesting that distinct groups of microorganisms mediate different steps of denitrification. Sulfide addition (1 µM) did not affect anammox or O[subscript 2] inhibition kinetics but strongly stimulated N[subscript 2]O production by denitrification. These results identify new O[subscript 2] thresholds for delimiting marine nitrogen loss and highlight the utility of integrating biogeochemical and metatranscriptomic analyses.
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spelling mit-1721.1/943222022-09-28T00:47:27Z Oxygen at Nanomolar Levels Reversibly Suppresses Process Rates and Gene Expression in Anammox and Denitrification in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Northern Chile Dalsgaard, Tage Stewart, Frank J. Thamdrup, Bo De Brabandere, Loreto Revsbech, Niels Peter Ulloa, Osvaldo Canfield, Don E. DeLong, Edward Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering DeLong, Edward A major percentage (20 to 40%) of global marine fixed-nitrogen loss occurs in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). Concentrations of O[subscript 2] and the sensitivity of the anaerobic N[subscript 2]-producing processes of anammox and denitrification determine where this loss occurs. We studied experimentally how O[subscript 2] at nanomolar levels affects anammox and denitrification rates and the transcription of nitrogen cycle genes in the anoxic OMZ off Chile. Rates of anammox and denitrification were reversibly suppressed, most likely at the enzyme level. Fifty percent inhibition of N[subscript 2] and N[subscript 2]O production by denitrification was achieved at 205 and 297 nM O[subscript 2], respectively, whereas anammox was 50% inhibited at 886 nM O2. Coupled metatranscriptomic analysis revealed that transcripts encoding nitrous oxide reductase (nosZ), nitrite reductase (nirS), and nitric oxide reductase (norB) decreased in relative abundance above 200 nM O[subscript 2]. This O[subscript 2] concentration did not suppress the transcription of other dissimilatory nitrogen cycle genes, including nitrate reductase (narG), hydrazine oxidoreductase (hzo), and nitrite reductase (nirK). However, taxonomic characterization of transcripts suggested inhibition of narG transcription in gammaproteobacteria, whereas the transcription of anammox narG, whose gene product is likely used to oxidatively replenish electrons for carbon fixation, was not inhibited. The taxonomic composition of transcripts differed among denitrification enzymes, suggesting that distinct groups of microorganisms mediate different steps of denitrification. Sulfide addition (1 µM) did not affect anammox or O[subscript 2] inhibition kinetics but strongly stimulated N[subscript 2]O production by denitrification. These results identify new O[subscript 2] thresholds for delimiting marine nitrogen loss and highlight the utility of integrating biogeochemical and metatranscriptomic analyses. Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Agouron Institute Danish National Research Foundation (Grant DNRF53) 2015-02-11T15:43:40Z 2015-02-11T15:43:40Z 2014-10 2014-09 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2150-7511 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/94322 Dalsgaard, Tage, Frank J. Stewart, Bo Thamdrup, Loreto De Brabandere, Niels Peter Revsbech, Osvaldo Ulloa, Don E. Canfield, and Edward F. DeLong. “Oxygen at Nanomolar Levels Reversibly Suppresses Process Rates and Gene Expression in Anammox and Denitrification in the Oxygen Minimum Zone Off Northern Chile.” mBio 5, no. 6 (October 28, 2014): e01966–14. en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01966-14 mBio Creative Commons Attribution http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ application/pdf American Society for Microbiology American Society for Microbiology
spellingShingle Dalsgaard, Tage
Stewart, Frank J.
Thamdrup, Bo
De Brabandere, Loreto
Revsbech, Niels Peter
Ulloa, Osvaldo
Canfield, Don E.
DeLong, Edward
Oxygen at Nanomolar Levels Reversibly Suppresses Process Rates and Gene Expression in Anammox and Denitrification in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Northern Chile
title Oxygen at Nanomolar Levels Reversibly Suppresses Process Rates and Gene Expression in Anammox and Denitrification in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Northern Chile
title_full Oxygen at Nanomolar Levels Reversibly Suppresses Process Rates and Gene Expression in Anammox and Denitrification in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Northern Chile
title_fullStr Oxygen at Nanomolar Levels Reversibly Suppresses Process Rates and Gene Expression in Anammox and Denitrification in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Northern Chile
title_full_unstemmed Oxygen at Nanomolar Levels Reversibly Suppresses Process Rates and Gene Expression in Anammox and Denitrification in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Northern Chile
title_short Oxygen at Nanomolar Levels Reversibly Suppresses Process Rates and Gene Expression in Anammox and Denitrification in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Northern Chile
title_sort oxygen at nanomolar levels reversibly suppresses process rates and gene expression in anammox and denitrification in the oxygen minimum zone off northern chile
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/94322
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