What Genetic Sequencing Revealed About FritzZyme TurboStart 700
FritzZyme TurboStart 700 lists Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter, nitrifying bacteria, on the label. In 2011, a microbiology lab at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas confirmed those genera are actually in the bottle — not because they set out to validate the product, but because their own research required them to know exactly what they were working with.
Chosen for a reason
The UNLV team, led by Professor Penny Amy, needed a reliable source of live nitrifying bacteria to seed a soil-free plant growth system. They chose FritzZyme TurboStart 700 because earlier work had already shown it establishing real nitrification in zeoponics, a demanding semi-hydroponic system.
What they confirmed
Working with the UNLV Genomics Center, the team used 16S rDNA gene sequencing — a method that identifies bacteria by their genetic signature. The results came back with exactly two nitrifying genera: Nitrosomonas (ammonia-oxidizing) and Nitrobacter (nitrite-oxidizing). The same two Fritz lists on the label.
They also confirmed the bacteria were alive and active. Tracking cultures over several days, they measured real ammonia and nitrite oxidation — which is the process of nitrification in the nitrogen cycle.
Why it matters
True nitrifying bacteria are autotrophs: they get their energy from ammonia and nitrite, grow slowly, and are difficult to keep alive in a bottle. From our own experience, many commercial products instead use only shelf-stable spore-forming heterotrophic bacteria — which, although beneficial, do not perform the nitrogen cycle. The UNLV results confirm FritzZyme contains the real thing.
Reference: Harrington A., Perry J., Amy P.S. “Identification of nitrifying bacteria contained in a commercial inoculant using molecular biology techniques.” UNLV School of Life Sciences, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, 2011.
