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Dinitrogen-Fixing Prokaryotes

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The Prokaryotes

1 Introduction

Dinitrogen fixation, the biocatalytic conversion of gaseous nitrogen (N2) to ammonium, is an exclusive property of prokaryotes. The enzymes responsible for this reaction are nitrogenases. Proof that bacteria associated with leguminous plants can fix atmospheric N2 (making it available to the plants for growth) was first reported in 1888 (reviewed in Quispel, 1988). Nitrogen fixation is the most important way N2 from air enters biological systems and therefore it is a key step in the nitrogen cycle. From a practical point of view, the importance of the process rests with its ability to reduce the chemical fertilization of crops, even under conditions of environmental stress (Bordeleau and Prévost, 1994; Zahran, 1999). Indeed, agronomically important crops such as soybean, alfalfa, pea, clover and bean obtain substantial amounts of their nitrogen from bacterial N2 fixation. One of the long-term goals of N2fixation research is to select or engineer major cereal crops such...

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Authors
  1. Esperanza Martinez-Romero
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Box 196, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0312, USA

    Martin Dworkin Professor Dr. (Editor-in-Chief) (Editor-in-Chief)

  2. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University Medical School, 299 Campus Drive, Fairchild, D039, Stanford, CA, 94305-5124, USA

    Stanley Falkow

  3. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Eugene Rosenberg

  4. Department of Microbiology, Technical University Munich, 80290, Munich, Germany

    Karl-Heinz Schleifer

  5. DSMZ- German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH, Mascheroder Weg 1b, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany

    Erko Stackebrandt

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Martinez-Romero, E. (2006). Dinitrogen-Fixing Prokaryotes. In: Dworkin, M., Falkow, S., Rosenberg, E., Schleifer, KH., Stackebrandt, E. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30742-7_24

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