Determining the distribution of marine and coastal ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria using a quantitative approach.

The oxidation of ammonia to nitrite is the first and often rate-limiting step in nitrification and plays an important role in both nitrogen and carbon cycling. This process is carried out by two distinct groups of microorganisms: ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). This chapter describes methods for measuring the abundance of AOA and AOB using ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) genes, with a particular emphasis on marine and coastal systems. We also describe quantitative measures designed to target two specific clades of marine AOA: the "shallow" (group A) and "deep" (group B) water column AOA.