Enrichment and Characterization of an Autotrophic Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaeon of Mesophilic Crenarchaeal Group I.1a from an Agricultural Soil

Soil nitrification is an important process for agricultural productivity and environmental pollution. Though one cultivated representative of ammonia-oxidizing Archaea from soil has been described, additional representatives warrant characterization. We describe an ammonia-oxidizing archaeon (strain MY1) in a highly enriched culture derived from agricultural soil. Fluorescence in situ hybridization microscopy showed that, after 2 years of enrichment, the culture was composed of >90% archaeal cells. Clone libraries of both 16S rRNA and archaeal amoA genes featured a single sequence each. No bacterial amoA genes could be detected by PCR. A [¹³C]bicarbonate assimilation assay showed stoichiometric incorporation of ¹³C into Archaea-specific glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers. Strain MY1 falls phylogenetically within crenarchaeal group I.1a; sequence comparisons to "Candidatus Nitrosopumilus maritimus" revealed 96.9% 16S rRNA and 89.2% amoA gene similarities. Completed growth assays showed strain MY1 to be chemoautotrophic, mesophilic (optimum at 25°C), neutrophilic (optimum at pH 6.5 to 7.0), and nonhalophilic (optimum at 0.2 to 0.4% salinity). Kinetic respirometry assays showed that strain MY1's affinities for ammonia and oxygen were much higher than those of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). The yield of the greenhouse gas N₂O in the strain MY1 culture was lower but comparable to that of soil AOB. We propose that this new soil ammonia-oxidizing archaeon be designated "Candidatus Nitrosoarchaeum koreensis."