Sustained bacterial N2O reduction at acidic pH

Sustained bacterial N2O reduction at acidic pH | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Sustained bacterial N 2 O reduction at acidic pH Guang He, Gao Chen, Yongchao Xie, Cynthia Swift, Gyuhyon Cha, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3888681/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a climate-active gas with emissions predicted to increase due to agricultural intensification. Microbial reduction of N 2 O to dinitrogen (N 2 ) is the major consumption process and has been studied extensively at circumneutral pH; however, microbial N 2 O reduction under acidic conditions is thought to be limited. Many soils have pH values below 5 and soil acidification, a global process accelerated by anthropogenic practices, introduces high uncertainty into N 2 O emission budgets. We obtained an enrichment culture from an acidic tropical forest soil that robustly reduces N 2 O to N 2 at pH 4.5. Consecutive transfers at pH 4.5 yielded a co-culture and temporal analyses revealed a bimodal growth pattern with a Serratia sp. growing during an initial pyruvate fermentation phase followed by growth of a novel Desulfosporosinus sp. via hydrogenotrophic N 2 O reduction. The Desulfosporosinus sp. produced (3.1 ± 0.11) × 10 8 cells per mmol of N 2 O consumed, on par with growth yields reported for clade II N 2 O reducers at circumneutral pH. Genome analysis identified a clade II nos gene cluster, but an incomplete pathway for sulfate reduction, a hallmark feature of the genus Desulfosporosinus . Physiological characterization and metabolomic reconstruction revealed interspecies nutritional interactions, with the pyruvate fermenting Serratia sp. supplying amino acids as essential growth factors to the hydrogenotrophic Desulfosporosinus sp. The co-culture reduced N 2 O between pH 4.5 and 6 but not at or above pH 7, contradicting the notion that growth coupled microbial N 2 O reduction ceases under acidic pH conditions, and highlighting the N 2 O reduction potential of acidic soils. General Microbiology NosZ N2O reduction acidic soils greenhouse gas emissions Desulfosporosinus Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SIDesulfosporosinus01122024.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3888681","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":268624109,"identity":"05a5ee92-52ca-4255-a845-a2fcbbc04eb3","order_by":0,"name":"Guang He","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0061-1373","institution":"University of Tennessee Knoxville","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guang","middleName":"","lastName":"He","suffix":""},{"id":268624110,"identity":"e6130f57-7466-492f-bc67-4615751413c7","order_by":1,"name":"Gao 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reduction at acidic pH\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[{"identity":"e0ee420c-f368-49ab-9443-6531b8ebc28c","identifier":"10.13039/100000001","name":"National Science Foundation","awardNumber":"1831599, 1831582 ","order_by":0}],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Tennessee Knoxville","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"NosZ, N2O reduction, acidic soils, greenhouse gas emissions, Desulfosporosinus","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3888681/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3888681/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eNitrous oxide (N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO) is a climate-active gas with emissions predicted to increase due to agricultural intensification. Microbial reduction of N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO to dinitrogen (N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) is the major consumption process and has been studied extensively at circumneutral pH; however, microbial N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO reduction under acidic conditions is thought to be limited. Many soils have pH values below 5 and soil acidification, a global process accelerated by anthropogenic practices, introduces high uncertainty into N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO emission budgets. We obtained an enrichment culture from an acidic tropical forest soil that robustly reduces N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO to N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026nbsp;at pH 4.5. Consecutive transfers at pH 4.5 yielded a co-culture and temporal analyses revealed a bimodal growth pattern with a\u0026nbsp;\u003cem\u003eSerratia\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;sp. growing during an initial pyruvate fermentation phase followed by growth of a novel\u0026nbsp;\u003cem\u003eDesulfosporosinus\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003esp. via hydrogenotrophic N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO reduction. The\u0026nbsp;\u003cem\u003eDesulfosporosinus\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003esp. produced (3.1 ± 0.11) × 10\u003csup\u003e8\u003c/sup\u003ecells per mmol of N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO consumed, on par with growth yields reported for clade II N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO reducers at circumneutral pH. Genome analysis identified a clade II\u0026nbsp;\u003cem\u003enos\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;gene cluster, but an incomplete pathway for sulfate reduction, a hallmark feature of the genus\u003cem\u003eDesulfosporosinus\u003c/em\u003e. Physiological characterization and metabolomic reconstruction revealed interspecies nutritional interactions, with the pyruvate fermenting\u0026nbsp;\u003cem\u003eSerratia\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;sp. supplying amino acids as essential growth factors\u0026nbsp;to the hydrogenotrophic\u0026nbsp;\u003cem\u003eDesulfosporosinus\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003esp. The co-culture reduced N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO between pH 4.5 and 6 but not at or above pH 7, contradicting the notion that growth coupled microbial N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO reduction ceases under acidic pH conditions, and highlighting the N\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO reduction potential of acidic soils.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Sustained bacterial N2O reduction at acidic pH","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-01-23 18:15:29","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3888681/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"3e37e302-c4df-4a28-856d-5520f31e41cf","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 23rd, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":28296957,"name":"General Microbiology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-01-23T18:15:29+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-01-23 18:15:29","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3888681","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3888681","identity":"rs-3888681","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}