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Nitrifying bacteria obtain their chemical energy from: A. the reduction of NO3- to NH4+. B. the formation of NH4+ from N2 gas. C. the oxidation of NH4+ to N2.

User Shan Dou
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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:

  1. oxidation of ammonium to nitrite (performed by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria-AOB such as Nitrosomonas)
  2. oxidation of nitrite (NO2−) to nitrate (NO3−) performed by nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) such as Nitrobacter.
User Gorge
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