Analysis of N2 and N2O produced during growth of denitrifying bacteria in copper-depleted and -supplemented media.

Abstract

There is reasonable agreement that N20 :s a free obligate intermediate in denitrification However, N20 reductase has not been consistently isolated and purified, so its properties have not been elucidated (4-7). In the previous study, it was shown that copper was indispensable for anaerobic growth under N20 and very likely a functional part of N20 reductase in the denitrifying bacteria, Alcaligenes sp. and Alcaligenes faecalis (8). If cells were grown in a copperdepleted nitrate medium under anaerobic conditions, N20 would presumably be the main gaseous products. To verify this hypothesis, the authors cultured denitrifying bacteria in copper-depleted and -supplemented Giltay's medium under He and analyzed the gaseous products using gas chromatography.