Denitrifying bacteria

This group of bacteria, together with denitrifying fungi and archaea, is capable of performing denitrification as part of the nitrogen cycle.

[1] Denitrification is performed by a variety of denitrifying bacteria that are widely distributed in soils and sediments and that use oxidized nitrogen compounds such as nitrate and nitrite in the absence of oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor.

[7] The process of anaerobic denitrification may contribute significantly to the global methane and nitrogen cycles, especially in light of the recent influx of both due to anthropogenic changes.

[8] The extent to which anthropogenic methane affects the atmosphere is known to be a significant driver of climate change, and considering it is multiple times more potent than carbon dioxide.

[7] Anaerobic denitrification as a mechanism has been shown to be capable of removing the excess nitrate caused by fertilizer runoff, even in hypoxic conditions.

[10] Denitrifying bacteria are said to be high quality bioremediators because of their adaptability to a variety of different environments, as well as the lacking any toxic or undesirable leftovers, as are left by other metabolisms.

For a long time, it was considered that the mitigation of methane emissions was only due to aerobic methanotrophic bacteria.

Another important environmental issue concerning denitrification is the fact that the process tends to produce large amounts of by-products.

Wastewater often contains large amounts of nitrogen (in the form of ammonium or nitrate), which could be damaging to human health and ecological processes if left untreated.

Many physical, chemical, and biological methods have been used to remove the nitrogenous compounds and purify polluted waters.