DASIM

Denitrification, the process of nitrate reduction allowing microbes to sustain respiration under anaerobic conditions, is the key process returning reactive nitrogen as N2 to the atmosphere. The different reaction steps (NO3- -> NO2- -> NO -> N2O -> N2) are enzymatically mediated by a broad range of prokaryotes and some eukaryotes. Actively denitrifying communities in soil show distinct regulatory phenotypes (DRP) with characteristic controls on the single reaction steps and end-products. It is unresolved whether DRPs are anchored in the taxonomic composition of denitrifier communities and how environmental conditions shape them. Despite being intensively studied for more than 100 years, denitrification rates and emissions of its gaseous products can still not be satisfactorily predicted. While the impact of single environmental parameters is well understood, the complexity of the process itself with its intricate cellular regulation in response to highly variable factors in the soil..

Also known as: DASIM Project Website

Primary location: Giessen