Genome of Nitrosotalea devanaterra Nd1

30% of the world's soil is acidic, and acidic soils nitrify at equal or higher rates than neutral soils. Paradoxically, until recently all cultivated bacterial and archaeal ammonia oxidisers were restricted to neutral or near-neutral conditions in the laboratory. Nitrosotalea devanaterra was the first obligately acidophilic ammonia oxidiser to be isolated, and grows within a pH range of 4-5.5. The aim of this study is to investigate the genetic basis enabling archaeal ammonia oxidation at low pH.