Difference Between Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter

Thekey differencebetween Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter is thatNitrosomonasis a bacterium that convertsammoniumions or ammonia into nitrites whileNitrobacteris a bacterium that convertsnitriteintonitratesin the soil.

The nitrogen cycle is an important biogeochemical cycle. Nitrogen cycle occurs via four major processes: nitrogen fixation, ammonification,nitrificationanddenitrification. Soil microorganisms participate in most chemical reactions in the nitrogen cycle and convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms. Nitrification is the biological transformation of ammonia or ammonium ions into nitrates by oxidation. It is an integral part of the nitrogen cycle. It is facilitated by two types of chemoautotrophic bacteria known asNitrosomonasandNitrobacter. They work under aerobic conditions. Nitrification is initiated byNitrosomonas.Nitrosomonasconverts ammonia and ammonium ions into nitrite. Then,Nitrobacterconverts nitrite into nitrate.

CONTENTS

1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is Nitrosomonas
3.What is Nitrobacter
4.Similarities Between Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter
5.Side by Side Comparison – Nitrosomonas vs Nitrobacter in Tabular Form
6.Summary

What is Nitrosomonas?

Nitrosomonasis a genus of nitrifying bacteria.Nitrosomonasspecies are Gram-negative and rod-shaped. They are chemoautotrophic bacteria which convert ammonium ions and ammonia into nitrite ions in the soil. Therefore,Nitrosomonasplays a vital role in the nitrogen cycle.

Nitrosomonasspecies work under aerobic conditions and optimum pH of 7.5 to 8.5. Moreover,Nitrosomonasspp has polar flagella; hence, they are motile bacteria. They belong to a group of beta proteobacteria.

What is Nitrobacter?

Nitrobacteris a genus of gram-negative nitrifying bacteria.Nitrobacter物种将亚硝酸盐在土壤中转化为硝酸盐。This is an important step of the nitrogen cycle. Moreover, it is a crucial step in plant nutrition. Nitrate is the accessible form of nitrogen of plants.

Nitrobacterdepends onNitrosomonasfor its nitrogen source. Therefore, bothNitrosomonasandNitrobacterare extremely important bacteria for plant nutrition.Nitrobacterspecies have sub-terminal flagella. Hence, they are motile bacteria. Moreover,Nitrobacterbelongs to the alpha subclass of proteobacteria.

What are the Similarities Between Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter?

• NitrosomonasandNitrobacterare two chemoautotrophic bacteria found in soil and water.
• They participate in oxidizing ammonia into nitrate.
• Therefore, they are nitrifying bacteria.
• They work best at the optimum pH between 7.5 and 8.5.
• Nitrobacterpopulation is strongly dependent on the population ofNitrosomonas.
• Both bacteria are sensitive to a number of environmental conditions such as pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, temperature, and inhibitory chemicals, etc.
• Both bacteria are rod-shaped.
• Moreover, they are Gram-negative bacteria.
• Both use CO₂as their carbon source.
• They reproduce by binary fission.

What is the Difference Between Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter?

The key difference betweenNitrosomonasandNitrobacteris thatNitrosomonasparticipates in the first step of nitrification, which is the conversion of ammonia into nitrites, whileNitrobacterparticipates in the second step of nitrification, which is the conversion of nitrite into nitrates.Nitrosomonasbelongs to the group of beta proteobateria whileNitrobacterbelongs to the group of alpha proteobacteria. So, this is another difference betweenNitrosomonasandNitrobacter.

Below infographic summarizes the differences betweenNitrosomonasandNitrobacterin tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Nitrosomonas vs Nitrobacter

Nitrification is the conversion of ammonium ions or ammonia into nitrate ions in the soil. It is a two-step process. First,Nitrosomonasconverts ammonium ions into nitrite. Then,Nitrobacterconverts nitrite ions into nitrate ions. This is a crucial step in plant nutrition since nitrate (NO₃^–) is the plant accessible form of nitrogen.Nitrosomonasbelongs to the beta subclass of proteobacteria whileNitrobacterbelongs to the alpha subclass of proteobacteria. Thus, this is the summary of the difference betweenNitrosomonasandNitrobacter.

Reference:

1. “Nitrosomonas.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Jan. 2021,Available here.
2. “Nitrobacter.” ScienceDirect Topics,Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Nm-eutropha” By Asw-hamburg – Own work(CC BY 3.0)viaCommons Wikimedia
2. “TEM Image of Nitrobacter winogradskyi str. Nb-255” ByProfessor William Hickey–(CC BY-SA 2.0)viaCommons Wikimedia