Ecophysiology of N2O-emitting microbial communities

Doctoral Thesis (2025)
Author(s)

Nina Roothans (TU Delft - BT/Environmental Biotechnology)

Contributor(s)

M. C M van Loosdrecht – Promotor (TU Delft - BT/Environmental Biotechnology)

Michele Laureni – Copromotor (TU Delft - Sanitary Engineering)

Research Group
BT/Environmental Biotechnology
More Info
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Publication Year
2025
Language
English
Research Group
BT/Environmental Biotechnology
ISBN (print)
978-94-6518-035-9
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Abstract

Microbial communities drive the nitrogen cycle, a fundamental process sustaining life on Earth. However, human activities have disrupted this balance, leading to excessive emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas with nearly 300 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide and a significant contributor to ozone layer depletion. Despite the urgency to reduce emissions, they are projected to increase by 50% in the next 50 years. Our ability to mitigate these emissions is limited by our incomplete understanding of the microbial complexity driving them. To develop effective mitigation strategies, we must determine how microbial communities regulate nitrogen transformations across diverse environments, from natural ecosystems such as soils and oceans to managed and engineered systems like agricultural soils and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).

By integrating genomic, proteomic, and metabolic insights, this thesis explores the complexity of microbial nitrogen cycling and N2O emissions.

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