Nitrosomonas

Nitrosomonas is a genus comprising rod shaped chemoautotrophic bacteria.

This rare bacteria oxidizes ammonia into nitrite as a metabolic process. Nitrosomonas are important in the nitrogen cycle by increasing the availability of nitrogen to plants while limiting carbon dioxide fixation. They live in biofilms on the substratum and other surfaces in aquaponic growbeds

Nitrosomonas prefers an optimum pH of 6.0-9.0 and a temperature range of 20 to 30°C. Most species are motile with a flagellum located in the polar regions.

The bacteria has power generating membranes, which form long, thin tubes inside the cell. These use electrons from the oxidation of ammonia to produce energy. It obtains the carbon it requires from the atmosphere via carbon fixation, which converts carbon in a gaseous form into carbon bound in organic molecules.

Unlike plants, which fix carbon into sugar through energy gained through the process of photosynthesis, Nitrosomonas use energy gained through the oxidation of ammonia to fix gaseous carbon dioxide into organic molecules. Nitrosomonas must consume large amounts of ammonia before cell division can occur, and the process of cell division may take up to several days. This microbe is photophobic, and will cover itself in biofilms: slime or clumps with other microbes to avoid light.