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Nitrogen is the most commonly limiting nutrient in plants. Legumes use nitrogen fixing bacteria, specifically symbiotic rhizobia bacteria, within their root nodules to counter the limitation. Rhizobia bacteria convert nitrogen gas (N 2) to ammonia (NH 3) in a process called nitrogen fixation.
A method for nitrogen fixation was first described by Henry Cavendish in 1784 using electric arcs reacting nitrogen and oxygen in air. This method was implemented in the Birkeland–Eyde process of 1903. [67] The fixation of nitrogen by lightning is a very similar natural occurring process.
Rhizobium is a genus of Gram-negative soil bacteria that fix nitrogen. Rhizobium species form an endosymbiotic nitrogen-fixing association with roots of (primarily) legumes and other flowering plants. The bacteria colonize plant cells to form root nodules, where they convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia using the enzyme nitrogenase.
The nif genes are genes encoding enzymes involved in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen into a form of nitrogen available to living organisms. The primary enzyme encoded by the nif genes is the nitrogenase complex which is in charge of converting atmospheric nitrogen (N 2) to other nitrogen forms such as ammonia which the organism can use for various purposes.
The nitrogen-fixing clade consists of four orders of flowering plants: Cucurbitales, Fabales, Fagales and Rosales. [a] This subgroup of the rosids encompasses 28 families of trees, shrubs, vines and herbaceous perennials and annuals. The roots of many of the species host bacteria that fix nitrogen into compounds the plants can use. [4] [5]
Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae – with taxa such as clover, soybeans, alfalfa, lupins, peanuts, and rooibos.They contain symbiotic bacteria called Rhizobia within nodules in their root systems, producing nitrogen compounds that help the plant to grow and compete with other plants.
The supply of nitrogen through fertilizers has severe environmental concerns. Specific strains of rhizobia are required to make functional nodules on the roots able to fix the N 2. [9] Having this specific rhizobia present is beneficial to the legume, as the N 2 fixation can increase crop yield. [10] Inoculation with rhizobia tends to increase ...
Some plants, called legumes, can form simultaneous symbiotic relationships with both AM fungi and the nitrogen-fixing bacteria Rhizobia. In fact, both organisms trigger the same pathways in plants during early colonization, indicating that the two very different responses could share a common origin.