Your first assignment is to provide information to the firm BigMoney Inc, a chemical producer in Kansas interested in using microbes to clean toxic spills (bioremediation). BigMoney Inc. has had a major spill of inorganic Nitrite (N02-) that contaminated the soil around their plant. Scientists at BigMoney have developed mechanisms for removing NH4 + from soil, but have not found one for N02-. They want to know on a strictly theoretical basis (regardless of whether bacteria exist in nature that actually do these specific reactions) if there are any types of bacteria that could metabolize N02 - to give rise to NH4+? Nitrite (N02-) to Ammonium (NH4+). a) Is this an oxidation or reduction? b) Is N02 - acting as an electron acceptor or donor?

Question

Barley

Biology

13 December, 00:58

Your first assignment is to provide information to the firm BigMoney Inc, a chemical producer in Kansas interested in using microbes to clean toxic spills (bioremediation). BigMoney Inc. has had a major spill of inorganic Nitrite (N02-) that contaminated the soil around their plant. Scientists at BigMoney have developed mechanisms for removing NH4 + from soil, but have not found one for N02-. They want to know on a strictly theoretical basis (regardless of whether bacteria exist in nature that actually do these specific reactions) if there are any types of bacteria that could metabolize N02 - to give rise to NH4+? Nitrite (N02-) to Ammonium (NH4+). a) Is this an oxidation or reduction? b) Is N02 - acting as an electron acceptor or donor?

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Answers (1)

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Ciara Strickland · Answer 1

Bacteria that metabolize NO2 - to give rise to NH4 + belongs to the family of denitrifying bacteria and nitrate ammonification bacteria such as pseudomonas.

Explanation:

Denitrifying bacteria uses NO2 - as electron aceeptor thus converting the nitrite ion (NO2-) to ammonium ion (NH4+).

a) The above reaction is a reduction reaction because NO2 - or nitrite ion accept electron to generated its reduced form known as ammonium (NH4+).

b) NO2 - acting as electron acceptor in this reaction.