Effects of elevated pCO_2 on the nitrification activity of microorganisms in marine sediment

摘要

Nitrification is a process of nitrogen cycle, that is reacted by microbial organisms and is appeared anywhere in the sediment and water column in ocean environment. We assessed the effect of elevated pCO_2 on the nitrification of the sediment in Osaka bay, Japan. Ammonium oxidation activity among the nitrification process was suppressed by the elevated pCO_2. On the other hand the quantity and the diversity of amoA gene, which is the specific coding of the ammonium oxidation, were not affected by elevated pCO_2. Microbial activity such as ammonium oxidation could be a useful tool for detecting CO_2 leakage because of its common existence in the ocean.