|  | Public Health Safety | Medical Research

Nitrogen Fixing

Nitrogen fixing, or nitrogen fixation, refers to the conversion of nitrogen gas found in the atmosphere into the kind used by plants and other organisms. Bacteria are the primary conductors of nitrogen fixation, usually in symbiosis with plants as well as free-living organisms. Furthermore, nitrogen fixation is one of the most important biochemical processes on earth, according to Biology Reference.

  1. The Facts

    • Nitrogen fixing is a vital biochemical process because it is the main source of nitrogen found in soil (which is necessary for plant growth). Living organisms need nitrogen because it is a part of the amino acids (that make up proteins) and the nucleic acids that make up ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

    Nitrogen Fixation

    • Nitrogen is the atmosphere's most abundant element, according to the Nitrogen Fixation site, and nitrogen fixation is the reduction of atmosphere nitrogen into ammonia. The actual chemical reaction results in an ammonium ion (a conjugate acid of ammonia).

      Because atmospheric nitrogen (N2) is not really reactive and chemically stable, it is not useful to most organisms. Therefore, living organisms consume ammonia, which then decomposes and converts back into atmospheric nitrogen, according to Biology Reference.

    Function

    • Nitrogen fixing bacteria use nitrogenase, a special enzyme with a butterfly shape, that contains an atom of molybdenum. This is very important for the process because soil that is deficient in molybdenum cannot sustain effective nitrogen fixation, according to Biology Reference. Nitrogenase requires a huge amount of energy in order to convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia (the usable form of nitrogen). While free-living bacteria must find their own nutrients for this energy, other types of bacteria use symbiotic relationships with plants for energy.

    Features

    • Non free-living bacteria have to develop symbiotic associates with plants for their source of energy. In particular, the plants provide them with sugars, which are both a source of energy and a source of carbon, necessary for the bacteria's own synthetic reactions, according to Biology Reference. In the symbiotic relationship, the bacteria supplies the plant with some of its fixed nitrogen. For example, bacteria Anabaena lives in symbiotic association with the water fern Azolla. Azolla thrives in ride paddies and shades the fern, as the rise grows above the surface of the water. The fern in turn dies and releases stored nitrogen. This is one way that the paddy can be fertilized without a chemical fertilizer.

    Considerations

    • Nitrogen fixation can also occur as a result of lightning. When lighting strikes it gives off a strong and powerful smell (it is ammonia like and is really lighting-fixed nitrogen). However, a very small amount of the world's nitrogen is fixed through lighting, according to Backyard Nature. The majority of it still comes from nitrogen fixing bacteria.

Medical Research - Related Articles