Objective
For over a century it was believed that ammonium could only be oxidized by microbes in the presence of oxygen. The possibility of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) was considered impossible. However, about 10 years ago the microbes responsible for the anammox reaction were discovered in a wastewater plant. This was followed by the identification of the responsible bacteria. Recently, the widespread environmental occurrence of the anammox bacteria was demonstrated leading to the realization that anammox bacteria may play a major role in biological nitrogen cycling. The anammox bacteria are unique microbes with many unusual properties. These include the biological turn-over of hydrazine, a well known rocket fuel, the biological synthesis of ladderane lipids, and the presence of a prokaryotic organelle in the cytoplasma of anammox bacteria. The aim of this project is to obtain a fundamental understanding of the metabolism and ecological importance of the anammox bacteria. Such understanding contributes directly to our environment and economy because the anammox bacteria form a new opportunity for nitrogen removal from wastewater, cheaper, with lower carbon dioxide emissions than existing technology. Scientifically the results will contribute to the understanding how hydrazine and dinitrogen gas are made by the anammox bacteria. The research will show which gene products are responsible for the anammox reaction, and how their expression is regulated. Furthermore, the experiments proposed will show if the prokaryotic organelle in anammox bacteria is involved in energy generation. Together the environmental and metabolic data will help to understand why anammox bacteria are so successful in the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle and thus shape our planets atmosphere. The different research lines will employ state of the art microbial and molecular methods to unravel the exceptional properties of these highly unusual and important anammox bacteria.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes wastewater treatment processes
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences chemical sciences electrochemistry electrolysis
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2008-AdG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
6525 XZ Nijmegen
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.