Photoelectrocatalytic N₂ fixation and C-H oxyfunctionalization driven by H₂O oxidation

Solar-driven N₂ fixation offers a green alternative to the highly energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process that releases more than 300 million metric tons of CO₂ annually to form NH₃. However, N₂-reducing photoelectrochemical (PEC) studies have not elucidated how an oxidation reaction affects the N<sub...

Metagenomes and metatranscriptomes shed new light on the microbial-mediated sulfur cycle in a Siberian soda lake

Background: The planetary sulfur cycle is a complex web of chemical reactions that can be microbial-mediated or can occur spontaneously in the environment, depending on the temperature and pH. Inorganic sulfur compounds can serve as energy sources for specialized prokaryotes and are important substrates for microbial growth in general. Here,...

Effect of salinity on diazotrophic activity and microbial composition of phototrophic communities from Bitter-1 soda lake (Kulunda Steppe, Russia)

Bitter-1 is a shallow hypersaline soda lake in Kulunda Steppe (Altai region, Russia). During a study period between 2005 and 2016, the salinity in the littoral area of the lake fluctuated within the range from 85 to 400 g/L (in July of each year). Light-dependent nitrogen fixation occurred in this lake up to the salt-saturating conditions....

Natronobacillus azotifigens gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobic diazotrophic haloalkaliphile from soda-rich habitats

Gram-positive bacteria capable of nitrogen fixation were obtained in microoxic enrichments from soda soils in south-western Siberia, north-eastern Mongolia, and the Lybian desert (Egypt). The same organisms were obtained in anoxic enrichments with glucose from soda lake sediments in the Kulunda Steppe (Altai, Russia) using nitrogen-free alkaline...