For over 100 years, the two nitrification steps were known to be always catalyzed by different micro-organisms: the ammonia and the nitrite oxidizers. Two back-to-back papers came out showing that members of the nitrite-oxidizer genus Nitrospira are capable of complete nitrification, the so-called comammox (complete-ammonia-oxidizer) bacteria.
Daims H, Lebedeva EV, Pjevac P, Han P, Herbold C, Albertsen M, et al.(2015). Nature.
van Kessel MAHJ, Speth DR, Albertsen M, Nielsen PH, Camp den HJMO, Kartal B, et al.(2015). Nature.
We are proud that MicroScope played a role in this discovery.
As blogged by Ian Marshall :
Metagenomics is now a mature enough field that it can be used as part of a larger study in an intelligent and directed way to test a specific hypothesis and not be considered a “metagenomics” study.