Abiotic Conversion of Extracellular NH2OH Contributes to N2O Emission during Ammonia Oxidation.

Abiotic processes involving the reactive ammonia-oxidation intermediates nitric oxide (NO) or hydroxylamine (NH2OH) for N2O production have been indicated recently. The latter process would require the availability of substantial amounts of free NH2OH for chemical reactions during ammonia (NH3) oxidation, but little is known about extracellular NH2OH formation by the different clades of ammonia-oxidizing microbes. Here we determined extracellular NH2OH concentrations in culture media of several ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), as well as one complete ammonia oxidizer (comammox) enrichment (Ca. Nitrospira inopinata) during incubation under standard cultivation conditions. NH2OH was measurable in the incubation media of Nitrosomonas europaea, Nitrosospira multiformis, Nitrososphaera gargensis, and Ca. Nitrosotenuis uzonensis, but not in media of the other tested AOB and AOA. NH2OH was also formed by the comammox enrichment during NH3 oxidation. This enrichment exhibited the largest NH2OH:final product ratio (1.92%), followed by N. multiformis (0.56%) and N. gargensis (0.46%). The maximum proportions of NH4+ converted to N2O via extracellular NH2OH during incubation, estimated on the basis of NH2OH abiotic conversion rates, were 0.12%, 0.08%, and 0.14% for AOB, AOA, and Ca. Nitrospira inopinata, respectively, and were consistent with published NH4+:N2O conversion ratios for AOB and AOA.