Alterations in polyribosomes of reticulocytes maturing in vivo.

In this report we have shown that nitrite can be oxidized via a dehydrogenation. It seems likely that the nitrite molecule (or some activated form of it) is hydrated prior to electron removal. Summary.-In the chemoautotroph Nitrobacter agilis, the oxygen of water is responsible for the oxidation of nitrite. This process is independent of molecular oxygen. These results constitute the first experimental demonstration that water serves as the source of oxygen in chemoautotrophic bacteria.