Periplasmic and membrane-bound respiratory nitrate reductases in Thiosphaera pantotropha. The periplasmic enzyme catalyzes the first step in aerobic denitrification.

The unusual ability of Thiosphaera pantotropha to catalyze respiratory nitrate reduction under aerobic conditions is shown to correlate with the activity of a periplasmic nitrate reductase that is expressed under both aerobic and anaerobic growth conditions. The organism also synthesizes, but only under anaerobic conditions, a membrane-bound nitrate reductase which resembles the corresponding enzyme in Paracoccus denitrificans in respect of both catalytic properties and inhibition of activity in intact cells in the presence of oxygen.