 The denitrification properties of "Paracoccus denitrificans" are an important cause for the loss of nitrogen fertilisers in agricultural soil.This is possible due to the chemical process called "denitrification" in which nitrogen is converted to dinitrogen to produce nitric oxide and nitrous oxide which cause damage to the atmosphere.Metabolically, "Paracoccus denitrificans" is a known chemolithoautotroph - several strains of the microbe have been isolated that grow chemolithoautotrophically using carbon disulfide or carbonyl sulfide as energy sources.