Ecophysiology of N2O-emitting microbial communities
Nina Roothans (TU Delft - BT/Environmental Biotechnology)
M. C M van Loosdrecht – Promotor (TU Delft - BT/Environmental Biotechnology)
Michele Laureni – Copromotor (TU Delft - Sanitary Engineering)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
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.