Structure-guided identification of denitrification inhibitors to mitigate agricultural N2O emissions

Abstract Reducing anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural lands is critical to combating climate change. Nitrification inhibitors and synthetic microbial consortia have already demonstrated potential in decreasing soil nitrification-derived nitrous oxide emissions. However, targeted interventions addressing denitrification sources while balancing agricultural sustainability remain challenging. Here, we identify triazole compounds as cytochrome P450 inhibitors capable of reducing soil denitrification-derived nitrous oxide emissions by 85-100% in laboratory settings. Extending our findings to in-situ paddy fields, we observe that triazoles (at 0.05% of fertilizer nitrogen) reduce nitrous oxide emissions by 33-54%. These potential inhibitors specifically target the NAD(P)H and nitric oxide binding sites of P450Nor, strongly inhibiting fungal nitrous oxide emissions. Occupancy of the heme-iron(III) site within the P450Nor active pocket enhances this selectivity, which is critical for effective inhibition. Given the projected increase in agricultural nitrous oxide emissions, our findings offer insights into the development of denitrification inhibitors and highlight triazole as a promising solution for nitrous oxide mitigation in agricultural ecosystems.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2026-08-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-76975-6
Primary Topic
Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Structure-guided identification of denitrification inhibitors to mitigate agricultural N2O emissions

Lijun Hou, Prakash Lakshmanan, Hailin Zhang, Xinping Chen et al.
Nature Communications
Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
article

Structure-guided identification of denitrification inhibitors to mitigate agricultural N2O emissions

Lijun Hou, Prakash Lakshmanan, Hailin Zhang, Xinping Chen, Fusuo Zhang, Linfa Fang, Ran Xiao, Xiaoxuan Su, Yingmu Wang, Lin Zhang, Yong‐Guan Zhu, Bin Liu, Haixia Zeng, Yongliang Yang, Jinbo Zhang, Yue Deng
article en

Abstract

Abstract Reducing anthropogenic nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural lands is critical to combating climate change. Nitrification inhibitors and synthetic microbial consortia have already demonstrated potential in decreasing soil nitrification-derived nitrous oxide emissions. However, targeted interventions addressing denitrification sources while balancing agricultural sustainability remain challenging. Here, we identify triazole compounds as cytochrome P450 inhibitors capable of reducing soil denitrification-derived nitrous oxide emissions by 85-100% in laboratory settings. Extending our findings to in-situ paddy fields, we observe that triazoles (at 0.05% of fertilizer nitrogen) reduce nitrous oxide emissions by 33-54%. These potential inhibitors specifically target the NAD(P)H and nitric oxide binding sites of P450Nor, strongly inhibiting fungal nitrous oxide emissions. Occupancy of the heme-iron(III) site within the P450Nor active pocket enhances this selectivity, which is critical for effective inhibition. Given the projected increase in agricultural nitrous oxide emissions, our findings offer insights into the development of denitrification inhibitors and highlight triazole as a promising solution for nitrous oxide mitigation in agricultural ecosystems.

Nature Communications
Southwest University (CN), University of Freiburg (DE), The University of Queensland (AU), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (DE), Hainan University (CN), Dalian University of Technology (CN), Ministry of Agriculture (CA), Agriculture and Food (AU), Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (CN), Sanya University (CN), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), China Agricultural University (CN), East China Normal University (CN), Fuzhou University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Tsinghua University, Southwest University
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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