nitrogen-cycling
Nitrogen-cycling is the biogeochemical process through which nitrogen circulates in different chemical forms in ecosystems via biological transformations such as fixation, nitrification, and denitrification. Plants depend critically on this cycle to acquire usable nitrogen, since they cannot directly access atmospheric nitrogen despite its abundance. Understanding nitrogen cycling is essential for plant science, as it governs plant nutrition, soil health, and the productivity of agricultural and natural ecosystems.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-03-21
Researchers isolated a bacterium called Paracoccus sp. QD-21 that can remove multiple forms of nitrogen from wastewater simultaneously, achieving removal rates up to 5.55 mg per liter per hour. This single-organism approach could improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment systems that return cleaned water to the environment.
The bacterium achieved a nitrogen removal rate of 5.55 mg/(L·h) for ammonium, making it among the more efficient single-strain denitrifiers reported.
Paracoccus sp. QD-21 performs heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification simultaneously — a dual capability that simplifies treatment and reduces processing steps.
The strain was effective across multiple nitrogen compound types (removal rates of 5.55, 3.35, and 2.78 mg/(L·h)), suggesting adaptability to the complex nitrogen mixtures found in real wastewater.