[2] Populations were initially thought to be limited to marine ecosystems, but it was later discovered to be well-suited for numerous habitats, including activated sludge of wastewater treatment systems,[3] natural biological marine settings (such as the Seine River in France[4] and beaches in Cape Cod in the United States[5]), water circulation biofilters in aquarium tanks,[4] terrestrial systems,[5] fresh and salt water ecosystems, agricultural lands[6] and hot springs.

[7] Nitrospira live in a wide array of environments including but not limited to, drinking water systems, waste treatment plants, rice paddies, forest soils, geothermal springs, and sponge tissue.

[1] Visualization using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirms star-like protrusions on the outer membrane (6–8 nm thick).

[15] Electron-deprived structures are located in the cytosol and are believed to be glycogen storage vesicles; polyhydroxybutyrate and polyphosphate granules are also identified in the cytoplasm.

The CO2 can be assimilated by anabolism while the ammonia and organic by-product released by Nitrospira allow ammonium oxidizers[7] and other microbes to co-exist in the same microenvironment.

[13] The discovery of commamox organisms within Nitrospira redefine the way bacteria contribute to the Nitrogen cycle and thus a lot of future studies will be dedicated to it.

[9] The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LSPN)[22] and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).