Question

Name the microorganism which can fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil?

Answer 1

Hint:The microorganisms that can fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil is bacteria. There are many kinds of species of bacteria that have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil but Azotobacter and Rhizobium are the popular species often learned about.

Complete Answer: Nitrogen is a critical limiting nutrient for plant growth and production. It is a component of chlorophyll, the most significant pigment needed for photosynthesis, as well as organic molecules, which are key protein building blocks. Other relevant biomolecules, such as ATP and nucleic acids, are also identified. The biological model of nitrogen-fixing is achieved by a sophisticated prokaryote group. These organisms use the enzyme nitrogenase to facilitate the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia. Plants can easily assimilate this ammonia into the nitrogen being referred to above. These also include aquatic organisms, such as cyanobacteria, free-living soil bacteria, like Azotobacter, bacteria that construct associative associations with plants, such as Azospirillum, and, most particularly, bacteria, such as Rhizobiumwhich establish symbiosis with legumes and other plant species.

Additional Information:
A microorganism that has the ability to fix nitrogen requires 16 moles of ATP to reduce each mole of nitrogen. These organisms obtain this energy through oxidizing organic molecules. Non-photosynthetic free-living microorganisms must obtain these molecules from other microbes, while photosynthetic microorganisms, like cyanobacteria, use photosynthesizing sugars. Recent studies provide alternate means of supplying nitrogen to agriculture. Rather than using fertilizers, studies proposed using different bacterial species and coating seeds individually with probiotics so that it will substantially increase the growth of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Note: Excessive usage of synthetic fertilizers has led to disturbances in the nitrogen cycle and, eventually, in surface water as well as in groundwater pollution. Excessive loads of nitrogen fertilizers to freshwater, and other marine habitats, have triggered eutrophication, a process where algae are metastasizing.