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Some nitrogen-fixing bacteria have symbiotic relationships with plants, especially legumes, mosses and aquatic ferns such as Azolla. [4] Looser non-symbiotic relationships between diazotrophs and plants are often referred to as associative, as seen in nitrogen fixation on rice roots. Nitrogen fixation occurs between some termites and fungi. [5]
Diazotroph fertilizer is a kind of biofertilizer that can use nitrogen-fixing microorganisms to convert molecular nitrogen (N 2) into ammonia (which is the formation of nitrogen available for the crops to use). These nitrogen nutrients then can be used in the process of protein synthesis for the plants.
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 host plant provides the bacteria with amino acids so they do not need to assimilate ammonia. [5] The amino acids are then shuttled back to the plant with newly fixed nitrogen. Nitrogenase is an enzyme involved in nitrogen fixation and requires anaerobic conditions. Membranes within root nodules are able to provide these conditions.
These bacteria have the nitrogenase enzyme that combines gaseous nitrogen with hydrogen to produce ammonia, which is converted by the bacteria into other organic compounds. Most biological nitrogen fixation occurs by the activity of molybdenum (Mo)-nitrogenase, found in a wide variety of bacteria and some Archaea.
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.
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]
To express genes for nitrogen fixation, rhizobia require a plant host; they cannot independently fix nitrogen. [1] In general, they are gram negative , motile , non- sporulating rods. Rhizobia are a "group of soil bacteria that infect the roots of legumes to form root nodules ". [ 2 ]