Proposal to support the 4th international conference on nitrification and related processes (ICoN4)

Technical Report · Fri Nov 04 00:00:00 EDT 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1330971· OSTI ID:1330971

Klotz, Martin Gunter ^[1]

---

1. Univ. of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC (United States)

The 4th International Conference on Nitrification and Related Processes (ICoN4) commencing between June 27 and July 1, 2015, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada brings together an international collection of academic, government, and private sector researchers of the global biogeochemical nitrogen cycle to share their scientific discoveries, innovations and pertinent societal impacts. The classical understanding of “nitrification” describes the two-step transformation of ammonium to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate; however, we now know from the analysis genome sequences, the application of ‘omics technologies, microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, and microbial physiology that the transformation of ammonium is not performed by a few particular groups of microorganisms nor is it confined to oxic environments. Past ICoN meetings have explored the interconnections between ammonium- and nitrite-consuming processes in all ecosystems, the emission of greenhouse gases by these processes and their control, and the intersection between intermediates of the nitrification process and other elemental cycles; this has generated tremendous progress in our understanding of the global nitrogen cycle and it has generated excitement in the next generation of N cycle researchers. Nitrification research has a long-standing connection to the Community Science Program of the DOE. Between 1999 and 2001, the JGI generated the first genome sequence of an ammonia-oxidizing bacterium, Nitrosomonas europaea ATCC 19718, and it has subsequently sequenced, or is in the process of sequencing over 50 additional genomes from ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, and ammonia-oxidizing archaea. Autotrophic ammonia- and nitrite-transforming microorganisms play also a critical role in carbon cycling and sequestration in nearly all ecosystems. Not only do they control the concentration and speciation of biologically available N to plants and other microorganisms, nitrification is also the source of the various forms of nitrogen pollution. Nitrate pollution from over-fertilization of managed soils causes eutrophication and the reduction of nitrate and nitrate also results in emission of N2O, a denitrification process that leads to the accumulation of this major greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) and nitrite-driven anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) are involved in the transformation of ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate to dinitrogen without N2O as an intermediate, acting as mitigating processes to nitrification. Along with the vast international participation in the ICoN conferences, encouragement and inclusion of early career investigators and graduate students is viewed as critical to the continued success of our discipline.

• Research Organization: Univ. of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
• Contributing Organization: University of Alberta
• DOE Contract Number: SC0013395
• OSTI ID: 1330971
• Report Number(s): DOE-UNCC-13395; TRN: US1800482
• Resource Relation: Related Information: http://icon4.biology.ualberta.ca/welcome/http://icon4.biology.ualberta.ca/workshop/
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
42 ENGINEERING
BACTERIA
AMMONIA
NITRIFICATION
NITRITES
NITROGEN
NITRATES
GREENHOUSE GASES
BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
NITROGEN CYCLE
SOILS
nitrogen cycle
nitrification
anammox
ammonification
denitrification
carbon cycling and sequestration
greenhouse gas emmissions
bioremediation
bioprospecting
genome sequence analysis