Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2011 Dec;39(6):1811-6. doi: 10.1042/BST20110711.
Anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation), which is a reaction that oxidizes ammonium to dinitrogen gas using nitrite as the electron acceptor under anoxic conditions, was an important discovery in the nitrogen cycle. The reaction is mediated by a specialized group of planctomycete-like bacteria that were first discovered in man-made ecosystems. Subsequently, many studies have reported on the ubiquitous distribution of anammox bacteria in various natural habitats, including anoxic marine sediments and water columns, freshwater sediments and water columns, terrestrial ecosystems and some special ecosystems, such as petroleum reservoirs. Previous studies have estimated that the anammox process is responsible for 50% of the marine nitrogen loss. Recently, the anammox process was reported to account for 9-40% and 4-37% of the nitrogen loss in inland lakes and agricultural soils respectively. These findings indicate the great potential for the anammox process to occur in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. The distribution of different anammox bacteria and their contribution to nitrogen loss have been described in different natural habitats, demonstrating that the anammox process is strongly influenced by the local environmental conditions. The present mini-review summarizes the current knowledge of the ecological distribution of anammox bacteria, their contribution to nitrogen loss in various natural ecosystems and the effects of major influential factors on the anammox process.
厌氧氨氧化（anaerobic ammonium oxidation），即在缺氧条件下，利用亚硝酸盐作为电子受体将氨氧化为氮气的反应，是氮循环中的一个重要发现。该反应由一类特殊的类似于浮霉菌的细菌介导，这些细菌最初是在人为生态系统中发现的。随后，许多研究报告了在各种自然栖息地中厌氧氨氧化细菌的广泛分布，包括缺氧海洋沉积物和水柱、淡水沉积物和水柱、陆地生态系统以及一些特殊生态系统，如石油储层。先前的研究估计，厌氧氨氧化过程负责海洋中 50%的氮损失。最近，据报道，在内陆湖泊和农业土壤中，厌氧氨氧化过程分别占氮损失的 9-40%和 4-37%。这些发现表明，厌氧氨氧化过程在淡水和陆地生态系统中具有很大的发生潜力。不同厌氧氨氧化细菌的分布及其对氮损失的贡献已在不同的自然栖息地中进行了描述，这表明厌氧氨氧化过程受到当地环境条件的强烈影响。本综述总结了目前关于厌氧氨氧化细菌在各种自然生态系统中生态分布、对氮损失的贡献以及主要影响因素对厌氧氨氧化过程的影响的知识。
