Rapid Succession of Actively Transcribing Denitrifier Populations in Agricultural Soil During an Anoxic Spell.

ABSTRACT: Denitrification allows sustained respiratory metabolism during periods of anoxia, an advantage in soils with frequent anoxic spells. However, the gains may be more than evened out by the energy cost of producing the denitrification machinery, particularly if the anoxic spell is short. This dilemma could explain the evolution of different regulatory phenotypes observed in model strains, such as sequential expression of the four denitrification genes needed for a complete reduction of nitrate to N₂, or a "bet hedging" strategy where all four genes are expressed only in a fraction of the cells. In complex environments such strategies would translate into progressive onset of transcription by the members of the denitrifying community. We exposed soil microcosms to anoxia, sampled fo

SUBMITTER: Liu B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6331397 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature