These latecomers to the research scene,
called anammox bacteria, are the subject of a new study led by Daniel Noguera and Katherine McMahon, professors of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
These partners are
called heterotrophs, since they rely on the
anammox bacteria — which are primary producers (or autotrophs), like plants capable of photosynthesis — to turn atmospheric carbon dioxide into organic carbon.