Introduction

In this aerobic experiment, we add ammonium NH₄⁺ to transformed E. coli cells and measure the consumption of ammonium to determine whether our AMO transformant is converting ammonium to hydroxylamine (NH₂OH) faster than an untransformed control. A similar protocol is used to determine whether our HAO transformant is converting hydroxylamine to nitrite NO₂^-, by measuring production of nitrite.

Methods

Experimental methods

Results

AMO Transformant

Ammonia measured plotted vs optical density from minutes 129 to 885 for two replicates of the AMO transformant, and an untransformed E. coli control.

HAO Transformant

Over the course of the experiment, the OD for all treatments that hydroxylamine was added to decreased. Additionally, no nitrite was detected in any of the treatments.

Conclusion and Discussion

The AMO transformant uses ammonia at a rate greater than the untransformed E. coli control. This is due to the AMO consuming ammonia and converting it to hydroxylamine. Additionally, however, the AMO transformant grows significantly more slowly than the control.

It is clear that hydroxylamine is toxic to the cells at this concentration. With more time, it would be interesting to repeat the toxicity experiment using hydroxylamine to determine the threshold concentration that causes cell death. We expect that in vivo, the hydroxylamine to nitrite reaction catalyzed by HAO happens very quickly (TODO add ref) and that even at high throughput, hydroxylamine should not accumulate in the cell.