Answer:
C. the oxidation of NH4+ to N2.
Step-by-step explanation:
Nitrifying bacteria are specific types of bacteria that obtain their chemical energy by the oxidation of inorganic nitrogen compounds. The process of nitrification can be divided into two steps:
- oxidation of ammonium to nitrite (performed by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria-AOB such as Nitrosomonas)
- oxidation of nitrite (NO2−) to nitrate (NO3−) performed by nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) such as Nitrobacter.