Member of the two-component regulatory system NreB/NreC involved in the control of dissimilatory nitrate/nitrite reduction in response to oxygen. NreB functions as a direct oxygen sensor histidine kinase which is autophosphorylated, in the absence of oxygen, probably at the conserved histidine residue, and transfers its phosphate group probably to a conserved aspartate residue of NreC. NreB/NreC activates the expression of the nitrate (narGHJI) and nitrite (nir) reductase operons, as well as the putative nitrate transporter gene narT (By similarity). ATP + protein L-histidine = ADP + protein N-phospho-L-histidine. Binds 1 [4Fe-4S] cluster. Autophosphorylated.