RUI: Collabrative Research: Diversity of Ammonia Monooxygenase Genes form Autotrophic Ammonia Oxidizing Soil Bacteria

小行星9628556 氮是最常限制植物生长的元素。 然而，过量使用化肥会导致局部氮过量，对环境产生负面影响。 硝化作用是氮素循环的关键过程，导致生态系统氮素流失、地表富营养化 和 地面 水 和 的 生产 大气层 活性 微量 气. 的 负责硝化的第一步的细菌被称为氨氧化细菌。 土壤氨氧化细菌的基本生态学方面的特征仍然很差， 至少部分原因是现有的方法 检测环境中的细菌 很难使用。 本研究将基于编码氨氧化关键酶的遗传物质开发表征这些重要土壤细菌的数量和多样性的新方法。 这些方法将被应用于研究土壤氨氧化细菌在旱地小麦农业系统和西部山地森林网站。

9628556 Klotz Nitrogen is the element most frequently limiting to plant growth. Yet, excess use of fertilizers can lead to local excesses of nitrogen which have negative environmental impacts. Nitrification is a key process in the nitrogen cycle resulting in N loss from ecosystems, eutrophication of surface and ground water and the production of atmospherically active trace gases. The bacteria responsible for the first step in nitrification are known as ammonia oxidizing bacteria. Basic ecological aspects of soil ammonia oxidizing bacteria remain poorly characterized, at least partially because the existing methods for examination of these bacteria in the environment are difficult to use. This study will develop new methods for the characterization of the quantity and diversity of these important soil bacteria based on the genetic material which encodes a key enzyme of ammonia oxidation. These methods will be applied to examine the soil ammonia oxidizing bacteria in a dryland wheat agricultural system and in a western montane forest site.