Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons^™

Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria And Archaea Under Continuous Maize: The Influence Of Tillage, N Input And Aggregation On Abundance And Community Composition, Lauren Segal

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nitrification involves the oxidation of ammonium (NH₄⁺) and is an important component of the overall N cycle. Nitrification occurs in two steps; first by oxidizing ammonium to nitrite, and then to nitrate. The first step is often the rate limiting step. Until recently ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were thought to be the sole contributors to this process; however, the discovery of crenarchaeota, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), in marine environments has led to further study of their role in nitrification. Current literature supports the dominance of AOA over AOB in terrestrial ecosystems; however, little is known about what drives their …