Oxygen-releasing plants may provide aerobic niches in anoxic sediments and soils for ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. The oxygen-releasing, aerenchymatous emergent macrophyte Glyceria maxima had a strong positive effect on numbers and activities of the nitrifying bacteria in its root zone in spring and early summer. The stimulation of the aerobic nitrifying bacteria in the freshwater sediment, ascribed to oxygen release by the roots of G. maxima, disappeared in late summer. Numbers and activities of the nitrifying bacteria were positively correlated, and a positive relationship with denitrification activities also was found. To assess possible adaptations of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria to low-oxygen or anoxic habitats, a comparison was made between the freshwater lake sediment and three soils differing in oxicity profiles. Oxygen kinetics and tolerance to anoxia of the ammonia-oxidizing communities from these habitats were determined. The apparent K m values for oxygen of the ammonia-oxidizing community in the lake sediment were in the range of 5 to 15 M, which was substantially lower than the range of K m values for oxygen of the ammonia-oxidizing community from a permanently oxic dune location. Upon anoxic incubation, the ammonia-oxidizing communities of dune, chalk grassland, and calcareous grassland soils lost 99, 95, and 92% of their initial nitrifying capacity, respectively. In contrast, the ammonia-oxidizing community in the lake sediment started to nitrify within 1 h upon exposure to oxygen at the level of the initial capacity. It is argued that the conservation of the nitrifying capacity during anoxic periods and the ability to react instantaneously to the presence of oxygen are important traits of nitrifiers in fluctuating oxic-anoxic environments such as the root zone of aerenchymatous plant species.

Cultures of 10 different bacteria were used to serve as food sources for axenically grown Acanthamoeba casteUlanii, Acanthamoeba polyphaga, and HartmanneUla vermiformis. The nonpigmented enterobacteriaceae Escherichia coli K-12 and KlebsieUla aerogenes appeared to be excellent feed to all three amoebae. Hardly any growth or ammonium production was observed in tests with Chromatium vinosum and Serratia marcescens, which share the presence of pigmented compounds. Distinct differences in net ammonium production were detected and were correlated to the amoebal growth yield. In general, growth of amoebae and ammonium production increased in the order A. polyphaga, A. castellanii, and H. vermiformis.

Methanotrophic and nitrifying bacteria are both able to oxidize CH4 as well as NH4 +. To date it is not possible to estimate the relative contribution of methanotrophs to nitrification and that of nitrifiers to CH4 oxidation and thus to assess their roles in N and C cycling in soils and sediments. This study presents new options for discrimination between the activities of methanotrophs and nitrifiers, based on the competitive inhibitor CH3F and on recovery after inhibition with C2H2. By using rice plant soil as a model system, it was possible to selectively inactivate methanotrophs in soil slurries at a CH4/CH3F/NH4 + molar ratio of 0.1:1:18. This ratio of CH3F to NH4 + did not affect ammonia oxidation, but methane oxidation was inhibited completely. By using the same model system, it could be shown that after 24 h of exposure to C2H2 (1,000 parts per million volume), methanotrophs recovered within 24 h while nitrifiers stayed inactive for at least 3 days. This gave an “assay window” of 48 h when only methanotrophs were active. Applying both assays to model microcosms planted with rice plants demonstrated a major contribution of methanotrophs to nitrification in the rhizosphere, while the contribution of nitrifiers to CH4 oxidation was insignificant.

No abstract

Microorganisms may reciprocally select for specific interacting partners, forming a network with interdependent relationships. The methanotrophic interaction network, comprising of methanotrophs and non-methanotrophs, is thought to modulate methane oxidation and give rise to emergent properties beneficial for the methanotrophs. Therefore, microbial interaction may become relevant for community functioning under stress. However, empirical validation of the role and stressor-induced response of the interaction network remains scarce. Here, we determined the response of a complex methane-driven interaction network to a step-wise increase in NH4Cl-induced stress (0.5–4.75gL−1, in 0.25–0.5gL−1 increments) using enrichment of a naturally-occurring complex community derived from a paddy soil in laboratory-scale incubations. Although ammonium and intermediates of ammonium oxidation are known to inhibit methane oxidation, methanotrophic activity was unexpectedly detected even in incubations with high ammonium levels, albeit rates were significantly reduced. Sequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA and pmoA genes consistently revealed divergent communities in the reference and stressed incubations. The 16S rRNA-based co-occurrence network analysis revealed that NH4Cl-induced stress intensification resulted in a less complex and modular network, likely driven by less stable interaction. Interestingly, the non-methanotrophs formed the key nodes, and appear to be relevant members of the community. Overall, stressor intensification unravels the interaction network, with adverse consequences for community functioning.