Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026

Studying Copper Nanoparticle-Induced Programmed Cell Death in Bacteria
Published on: May 16, 2025
Copper control of bacterial nitrous oxide emission and its impact on vitamin B12-dependent metabolism
Matthew J Sullivan1, Andrew J Gates, Corinne Appia-Ayme
1School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Global agricultural emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) have increased by around 20% over the last 100 y, but regulation of these emissions and their impact on bacterial cellular metabolism are poorly understood. Denitrifying bacteria convert nitrate in soils to inert di-nitrogen gas (N2) via N2O and the biochemistry of this process has been studied extensively in Paracoccus denitrificans. Here we demonstrate that expression of the gene encoding the nitrous oxide reductase (NosZ), which converts N2O to N2, is regulated in response to the extracellular copper concentration. We show that elevated levels of N2O released as a consequence of decreased cellular NosZ activity lead to the bacterium switching from vitamin B12-dependent to vitamin B12-independent biosynthetic pathways, through the transcriptional modulation of genes controlled by vitamin B12 riboswitches. This inhibitory effect of N2O can be rescued by addition of exogenous vitamin B12.
More Related Videos
08:32Application of Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Nitric Oxide (NO•) Probes, the geNOps, for Real-time Imaging of NO• Signals in Single Cells
Published on: March 16, 2017
11:04Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Determining the Structure and Mechanisms of Metal Ion Recognition and Redox Activity of Metal Binding Oligopeptides
Published on: September 7, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Metabolism of Chemolithotrophs
Sulfur Assimilation
Microbial Leaching
Microbial Nutrition
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this...
The Roles of Bacteria and Fungi in Plant Nutrition