Cited by 311Gut microbiota and healthWastewater Treatment and Nitrogen RemovalProbiotics and Fermented Foods

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 55 of the 55 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 35 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Nitrate Reduction to Nitrite, Nitric Oxide and Ammonia by Gut Bacteria under Physiological Conditions

Open access

Abstract

The biological nitrogen cycle involves step-wise reduction of nitrogen oxides to ammonium salts and oxidation of ammonia back to nitrites and nitrates by plants and bacteria. Neither process has been thought to have relevance to mammalian physiology; however in recent years the salivary bacterial reduction of nitrate to nitrite has been recognized as an important metabolic conversion in humans. Several enteric bacteria have also shown the ability of catalytic reduction of nitrate to ammonia via nitrite during dissimilatory respiration; however, the importance of this pathway in bacterial species colonizing the human intestine has been little studied. We measured nitrite, nitric oxide (NO) and ammonia formation in cultures of Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species grown at different sodium nitrate concentrations and oxygen levels. We found that the presence of 5 mM nitrate provided a growth benefit and induced both nitrite and ammonia generation in E.coli and L.plantarum bacteria grown at oxygen concentrations compatible with the content in the gastrointestinal tract. Nitrite and ammonia accumulated in the growth medium when at least 2.5 mM nitrate was present. Time-course curves suggest that nitrate is first converted to nitrite and subsequently to ammonia. Strains of L.rhamnosus, L.acidophilus and B.longum infantis grown with nitrate produced minor changes in nitrite or ammonia levels in the cultures. However, when supplied with exogenous nitrite, NO gas was readily produced independently of added nitrate. Bacterial production of lactic acid causes medium acidification that in turn generates NO by non-enzymatic nitrite reduction. In contrast, nitrite was converted to NO by E.coli cultures even at neutral pH. We suggest that the bacterial nitrate reduction to ammonia, as well as the related NO formation in the gut, could be an important aspect of the overall mammalian nitrate/nitrite/NO metabolism and is yet another way in which the microbiome links diet and health.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In vitro cultures of common gut bacteria show that nitrate can be reduced first to nitrite and then to ammonia under oxygen and nitrate conditions relevant to the gastrointestinal tract. E. coli and L. plantarum were the main nitrate reducers, while lactic acid bacteria also generated NO from nitrite largely through acid-driven non-enzymatic reduction.

Key findings

  • E. coli and L. plantarum grown with 5 mM nitrate at low oxygen showed a growth benefit and produced nitrite and ammonia; nitrite and ammonia accumulated when nitrate was at least 2.5 mM, reaching about 260 μM NO2− and 180 μM NH4+ in E. coli media at 5–20 mM nitrate.
  • Time-course experiments at 2% O2 with 5 mM nitrate suggested nitrate is first converted to nitrite and subsequently to ammonia; nitrite peaked at 30–36 h at about 0.4 mM for E. coli and 0.1 mM for L. plantarum.
  • L. rhamnosus, L. acidophilus and B. longum infantis showed minor changes in nitrite or ammonia with nitrate, but all LAB cultures produced NO from exogenous nitrite; LAB lactic acid acidified the medium and drove non-enzymatic nitrite reduction to NO, whereas E. coli converted nitrite to NO even at neutral pH.
  • E. coli NO production from nitrite was low at 2% O2 (<40 ppb/109 CFU) and much larger after anaerobic growth, roughly correlating with increasing nitrate; arginine and L-NAME did not change NO production, arguing against bacterial NOS activity.

Methods

  • In vitro cultures of E. coli (MG1655 in Results; Table 1 lists MG1566), L. acidophilus ATCC 4356, L. plantarum ATCC BAA-793 (WCFS1), L. rhamnosus ATCC 7469, and B. longum infantis ATCC 15697 were grown at 37°C in modified LMRS broth without ammonium citrate, with controlled O2 levels from 0% to 21% and nitrate from 0 to 20 mM; LAB were supplemented with heme and vitamin K2.
  • Nitrite was measured by acidic tri-iodide-based gas-phase chemiluminescence, ammonia by colorimetric kits, NO gas by ozone-based chemiluminescence, and lactic acid enzymatically.
  • Experiments were performed in triplicate, values reported as mean ± SD, nitrite and ammonia normalized to OD600 after 24 h growth, and one-way ANOVA used where applicable.

Limitations

  • The paper states that the importance of this pathway in vivo demands further studies, that how much ammonia comes from nitrate-nitrite reduction versus deamination or urease activity requires detailed animal and/or human metabolic studies, and that the biological significance of dietary nitrate conversion in the intestinal lumen remains to be established.
  • The paper notes that very little information exists on in vivo O2 concentrations in intestinal fluids, so the oxygen conditions used are approximations of gastrointestinal levels.
  • Evident from the text: findings are from in vitro single-strain cultures, not complex gut communities or host tissue; ammonia measurements in cell pellets had large errors and possible ammonia evaporation, leading the authors to measure nitrate metabolites mainly in cell-free supernatant.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pone.0119712

Cites

55 of 55 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 35 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 37 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 32
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 6
38 of 38
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The O2 level of 2% used in some experiments is similar to the partial pressure found on the luminal surface of the intestinal mucosa.

    “with the O2 level fixed at 2%, a partial pressure similar to the one found on the luminal surface of the intestinal mucosa”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Ammonia generated by gut microbiota from nitrate would likely be carried to the liver via the portal vein and enter the urea cycle to be converted into urea and amino acids.

    “The ammonia thus generated would likely be carried to the liver via the portal vein, where it can enter the urea cycle and be converted into urea and amino acids.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The in vitro conditions used are compatible with nitrate-rich diets and oxygen levels found on the mucosal surfaces of the GI tract.

    “using in vitro conditions compatible with nitrate-rich diets and oxygen levels found on the mucosal surfaces of the GI tract”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The intestinal pH ranges between 5.7 and 7.5.

    “Measurements of the intestine pH ranges between 5.7 and 7.5”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Approximately 60% of an ingested nitrate dose in humans is not accounted for in excreted nitrogen-containing compounds.

    “the biological fate of exogenous nitrate could not be accounted for in the excreted nitrogen-containing compounds which amount to approximately 60% of an ingested nitrate dose in humans”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The bacterial species and strains studied in vitro are representative of those performing nitrate reduction in the human gut.

    “selected common bacterial species colonizing the human intestine”
6 of 6

Claims other papers make about this one

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Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • E. coli strain identifier differs between Table 1 and the results

    Minor

    Table 1 identifies the E. coli strain used in the study as MG1566, whereas the results identify the strain in the growth experiments as MG1655. The text does not establish whether these are different strains or a mislabeled strain.

1 of 1

Citations

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. XB Ji, 1989, Nitrate Reductase of Escherichia-Coli as a No-Producing Nitrite Reductase, Biochemical Archives, 5, 61

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Metadata

Authors
Tiso, M., & Schechter, A. N.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Corresponding author
Schechter, Alan N.
Venue
PLOS ONE
Published
2015-03-24
Volume
10
Issue
3
Pages
e0119712
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2016792399
Cited by
311
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 41 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 4
FWCI
9.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Institutes of Health
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
Keywords
nitrate reduction, nitrite, nitric oxide, ammonia synthesis, gut microbiota, Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, lactic acid
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Ammonia, Analysis of Variance, Bifidobacterium, Escherichia coli, Humans, Lactobacillus, Nitrates, Nitric Oxide, Nitrites, Oxygen, Lactic Acid, Nitrogen Cycle

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