Cyanate and urea are substrates for nitrification by Thaumarchaeota in the marine environment.

ABSTRACT: Ammonia-oxidizing archaea of the phylum Thaumarchaeota are among the most abundant marine microorganisms¹. These organisms thrive in the oceans despite ammonium being present at low nanomolar concentrations^2,3. Some Thaumarchaeota isolates have been shown to utilize urea and cyanate as energy and N sources through intracellular conversion to ammonium^4-6. Yet, it is unclear whether patterns observed in culture extend to marine Thaumarchaeota, and whether Thaumarchaeota in the ocean directly utilize urea and cyanate or rely on co-occurring microorganisms to break these substrates down to ammonium. Urea utilization has been reported for marine ammonia-oxidizing communities^7-10, but no evidence of cyanate utilization exists for marine ammonia oxidize

SUBMITTER: Kitzinger K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6825518 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature