Lanice reefs environmental nosZ sequencing. Lanice_nosZ

In this study, we investigated how the expression of the nosZ gene, encoding the enzyme which catalyses the last step of denitrification (conversion of N2O to N2 gas), and the biogeochemical environment (oscillation in O2 concentration, sediment grain size and chlorophyll a) are affected by bio-irrigation activity of the tube-building worm Lanice conchilega vertically at small (cm) scales along the sediment depth profiles and also at larger horizontal scales (m) at different natural Lanice densities within the reef. The observed patterns in nosZ transcripts were then statistically linked to environmental variables to objectively assess the link between faunal-mediated heterogeneity and expression of nosZ genes.