Abstract
Nitrogen (N) is one of the most abundant elements in plants, and constitutes 0.5–5% of the plant dry weight (8-10% in the case of microalgae). The atmosphere contains almost 80% nitrogen in the form of dinitrogen gas (N2). Only certain prokaryotic organisms are able to utilise this N2 by a process called biological nitrogen fixation - amounting to about 108 tonnes of N2-N per year. In the case of legumes and some other higher plants, nitrogen-fixing bacteria are contained in nodules in the roots. A large number of other symbiotic associations also exist. The N2 is fixed into ammonia which can be assimilated and metabolised (Fig. 19.1; Chapter 20). Biological nitrogen fixation was first reported in 1888, and since then this process has attracted a lot of interest in both its basic and applied aspects. The first part of this chapter will introduce the process of biological nitrogen fixation, the requirements, and its basic physiology and biochemistry.
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References (Nitrate Reduction)
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Further Reading(Nitrogen Fixation)
Burris, R.H. (1991) Nitrogenases. J. Biol. Chem. 266, 9339–9442.
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Rai, A.N. (ed.) (1990) Handbook of Symbiotic Cyanobacteria. CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
Sprent, J.I. and P. Sprent (1990) Nitrogen fixing Organisms; Pure and Applied Aspects. Chapman and Hall, London.
Stacey, G., R.H. Burris and H.J. Evans (eds.) (1992) Biological Nitrogen Fixation. Chapman and Hall, London.
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Lindblad, P., Guerrero, M.G. (1993). Nitrogen fixation and nitrate reduction. In: Hall, D.O., Scurlock, J.M.O., Bolhàr-Nordenkampf, H.R., Leegood, R.C., Long, S.P. (eds) Photosynthesis and Production in a Changing Environment. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1566-7_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1566-7_19
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