Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). BNF is a process exclusively restricted to the prokaryotes of the domains archaea and bacteria. However, there are many examples of symbiotic associations that have developed between eukaryotes and prokaryotes that circumvent the eukaryotes' needs for an exogenous supply of fixed nitrogen. Bacteria that use N2 as the sole source of nitrogen are called “diazotrophs.” Although only a limited number of bacterial species fix N2, they represent a wide variety of phylogenetically and physiologically distinct types that occupy different ecological niches. BNF is mediated by an enzyme complex called “nitrogenase,” which is composed of two proteins (dinitrogenase and nitrogenase reductase). There are three different forms of nitrogenase that differ in their requirements for molybdenum (Mo), vanadium (V), or iron (Fe) as a critical metallic component of the cofactor associated with the catalytic site. The chapter explains concepts of biological nitrogen fixation, free-living N2-fixing bacteria, and associative N2-fixing bacteria. Phototrophic bacteria as well as symbiotic N2-fixing associations between legumes and Rhizobia are discussed along with the biotechnology of BNF.
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