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In this infographic, the key metabolic functions of Nitrospira and the role that these bacteria play in nitrification and other processes in the environment is shown.

Nitrospira plays pivotal roles in nitrification as an aerobic chemolithoautotrophic nitrite-oxidizing bacterium. These bacteria often occur in close association with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria or archaea that convert ammonia to nitrite, which is further oxidized to nitrate by Nitrospira. However, in ‘reciprocal feeding’ interactions, Nitrospira can also provide ammonia oxidizers with ammonia released from urea or cyanate, which is further nitrified as described above. Recently discovered Nitrospira members even catalyze both nitrification steps alone and are therefore called complete ammonia oxidizers or ‘comammox’ organisms. Some strains of Nitrospira utilize alternative substrates, such as H₂ and formate, using oxygen or nitrate as terminal electron acceptor, and can exploit these energy sources concurrently with aerobic nitrite oxidation. This metabolic versatility enables Nitrospira to colonize a broad range of habitats and to sustain shifts in environmental conditions such as changing oxygen concentrations.

中文翻译：

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硝化螺菌

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在此信息图中，显示了硝化螺菌的关键代谢功能以及这些细菌在环境中的硝化作用和其他过程中所起的作用。

硝化螺菌在硝化中起有重要作用，是一种需氧的自养营养亚硝酸盐氧化细菌。这些细菌通常与氨氧化细菌或古细菌密切相关，而氨氧化细菌或古细菌将氨转化为亚硝酸盐，然后被硝化螺菌进一步氧化为硝酸盐。但是，在“相互加料”相互作用中，硝化螺菌还可以为氨氧化剂提供尿素或氰酸盐释放的氨，如上所述，尿素或氰酸盐进一步被硝化。最近发现的硝化螺菌菌成员甚至单独催化两个硝化步骤，因此被称为完全氨氧化剂或“ comammox”生物。某些硝化螺旋藻菌株利用其他底物，例如H ₂甲酸盐，使用氧气或硝酸盐作为末端电子受体，可以在有氧亚硝酸盐氧化的同时利用这些能源。这种新陈代谢的多功能性使硝化螺菌能够在广泛的栖息地定居，并能够维持环境条件的变化，例如氧气浓度的变化。