Chemoautotrophic activity and nitrification in the oxygen minimum zone off Peru

Ward, Bess B.; Glover, Hilary E.; Lipschultz, Fredric

doi:10.1016/0198-0149(89)90076-9

Cited by 127 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Direct measurements of nitrification rates in the ocean remain surprisingly limited, however, and amount to about a dozen studies in total (Ward, 1987;Ward et al, 1989;Yool et al, 2007). Of these, only two have directly quantified nitrification rates and the abundance of AOB in tandem, finding limited correspondence between maximum rates and maximum abundances (Ward, 1987;Ward et al, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of these, only two have directly quantified nitrification rates and the abundance of AOB in tandem, finding limited correspondence between maximum rates and maximum abundances (Ward, 1987;Ward et al, 1989). None have quantified AOA-although archaeal amoA was expressed in the nitrification zone of the Black Sea , and archaeal amoA gene copies vastly outnumber bacterial amoA copies on land and in the sea (Leininger et al, 2006;Wuchter et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular and biogeochemical evidence for ammonia oxidation by marine Crenarchaeota in the Gulf of California

2008

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Nitrification plays an important role in marine biogeochemistry, yet efforts to link this process to the microorganisms that mediate it are surprisingly limited. In particular, ammonia oxidation is the first and rate-limiting step of nitrification, yet ammonia oxidation rates and the abundance of ammoniaoxidizing bacteria (AOB) have rarely been measured in tandem. Ammonia oxidation rates have not been directly quantified in conjunction with ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), although mounting evidence indicates that marine Crenarchaeota are capable of ammonia oxidation, and they are among the most abundant microbial groups in the ocean. Here, we have directly quantified ammonia oxidation rates by 15 N labeling, and AOA and AOB abundances by quantitative PCR analysis of ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) genes, in the Gulf of California. Based on markedly different archaeal amoA sequence types in the upper water column (60 m) and oxygen minimum zone (OMZ; 450 m), novel amoA PCR primers were designed to specifically target and quantify 'shallow' (group A) and 'deep' (group B) clades. These primers recovered extensive variability with depth. Within the OMZ, AOA were most abundant where nitrification may be coupled to denitrification. In the upper water column, group A tracked variations in nitrogen biogeochemistry with depth and between basins, whereas AOB were present in relatively low numbers or undetectable. Overall, 15 NH 4 þ oxidation rates were remarkably well correlated with AOA group A amoA gene copies (r 2 ¼ 0.90, Po0.001), and with 16S rRNA gene copies from marine Crenarchaeota (r 2 ¼ 0.85, Po0.005). These findings represent compelling evidence for an archaeal role in oceanic nitrification.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular and biogeochemical evidence for ammonia oxidation by marine Crenarchaeota in the Gulf of California

2008

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“…In addition to this, potential nitrification rates (0.091 to 0.62 µM d -1 ) have been measurable in the OMZ core off Iquique (V. Molina et al unpubl. data) and Peru (Ward et al 1989) in spite of low NH 4 + values and high pelagic NO 3 -respiration rates, supporting the idea of a tight coupling between nitrifying and denitrifying communities participating in N 2 O production at O 2 levels ≤ 11 µM (Law & Owens 1990, Naqvi & Noronha 1991. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that the N 2 O contribution can also come from bacteria capable of nitrifying denitrification (Wrage et al 2001) and even NO 3 -ammonification (Omnes et al 1996), since these groups could also be present in this area.…”

Section: The Omz In the Eastern South Pacificmentioning

confidence: 93%

N2O cycling at the core of the oxygen minimum zone off northern Chile

Castro-González¹,

Farı́as²

2004

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…As discussed previously, N20 is often depleted in anoxic waters, a characteristic frequently attributed to consumption by denitrifying bacteria. Furthermore, elevated levels of N20 are observed in suboxic waters and at the peripheries of anoxic zones [Codispoti et al, 1989, Ward et al, 1989, Codispoti and Christensen, 1985 suggesting enhanced N20 production in these regions. Laboratory studies of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria also demonstrate complex behavior and increased N20 yields under low oxygen …”

Section: Complexities and Alternative Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors governing the oceanic nitrous oxide distribution: Simulations with an ocean general circulation model

Suntharalingam¹,

Sarmiento²

2000

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

115

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Abstract. A global model of the oceanic nitrous oxide distribution is developed to evaluate current understanding of the processes governing nitrous oxide formation and distribution in the open ocean. N20 is treated as a nonconserved tracer in a global ocean general circulation model subject to biological sources in the oceanic interior and gas exchange at the ocean surface. A simple scalar parameterization linking N20 production to oxygen consumption (and based on observed correlations between excess N20 and apparent oxygen utilization) is successful in reproducing the large-scale features of the observed distribution, namely, high surface supersaturations in regions of upwelling and biological productivity, and values close to equilibrium in the oligotrophic subtropical gyres. The majority of the oceanic N20 source is produced in the upper water column (over 75% above 600 m) and effluxes directly to the atmosphere in the latitude band of formation. The observed structure at depth is not as well reproduced by this model, which displays excessive N20 production in the deep ocean. An alternative source parameterization, which accounts for processes which result in a depth variation in the relationship between N20 production and oxygen consumption, yields an improved representation of the deep distribution. The surface distribution and sea-air flux are, however, determined primarily by the upper ocean source and, therefore, are relatively insensitive to changes in the nature of deep oceanic N20 production.

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Chemoautotrophic activity and nitrification in the oxygen minimum zone off Peru

Cited by 127 publications

References 45 publications

Molecular and biogeochemical evidence for ammonia oxidation by marine Crenarchaeota in the Gulf of California

Molecular and biogeochemical evidence for ammonia oxidation by marine Crenarchaeota in the Gulf of California

N2O cycling at the core of the oxygen minimum zone off northern Chile

Factors governing the oceanic nitrous oxide distribution: Simulations with an ocean general circulation model

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