Ureaseproducing

Urease-producing is a term used for organisms that synthesize the enzyme urease. Urease hydrolyzes urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia: urea + water -> carbon dioxide + 2 ammonia. This reaction raises local pH and releases nitrogen in a form usable by the organism or surrounding microbes.

Urease is widespread among bacteria, fungi, and some plants and archaea. In bacteria, urease genes are often organized in ure operons that regulate enzyme expression in response to nitrogen availability. Notable urease producers include Proteus mirabilis and Proteus vulgaris (urinary tract pathogens), Helicobacter pylori (gastric pathogen), Klebsiella and Yersinia species, and some Bacillus and Sporosarcina strains used in biotechnological contexts.

Clinical significance: Urease aids gastric colonization in H. pylori by neutralizing acid, facilitating infection. In urinary tract infections and kidney stones, urease activity can raise urine pH, promoting formation of struvite stones. Urease activity is exploited in diagnostic tests such as the urease (CLO) test and the urea breath test for H. pylori.

Applications and implications: In agriculture, urease accelerates hydrolysis of urea-based fertilizers, affecting nitrogen use efficiency and volatilization losses; urease inhibitors are used to control release. In environmental and biomineralization contexts, some urease-producing microbes induce carbonate precipitation and have uses in bioremediation and self-healing construction materials.

Detection and measurement: Urease activity can be measured by colorimetric assays, pH indicators, or ammonia assays; molecular methods target urease gene clusters (ureABC...).