Robert H Burris, University of Wisconsin‐Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Published online: March 2004
DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0000626
Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into a more active form that can be used by plants. Symbiotic biological nitrogen fixation occurs in leguminous and nonleguminous plants, and nitrogen is also fixed biologically by free-living and associative nitrogen fixers.
Keywords: fixation; mechanism; microorganisms; nodulation; control
| Further Reading | |
| Burris RH (1991) Nitrogenases. Journal of Biological Chemistry 266: 9339–9342. | |
| Carnahan JE, Mortenson LE, Mower HF and Castle JE (1960) Nitrogen fixation in cell-free extracts of Clostridium pasteurianum. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 44: 520–535. | |
| Christiansen J, Dean DR and Seefeldt LC (2001) Mechanistic features of the MO-containing nitrogenase. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 52: 269–295. | |
| Durant MC (2002) An atomic-level mechanism for molybdenum nitrogenase. Part 1. Reduction of dinitrogen. Part 2. Proton reduction, inhibition of dinitrogen reduction by dihydrogen, and the HD formation reaction. Biochemistry 41: 13934–13955. | |
| Einsle O, Tezcan FA, Andrade SLA, (2002) Nitrogenase MoFe-protein at 1.16 A resolution: a central ligand in FeMo-cofactor. Science 297: 1696–1700. | |
| book Fred EB, Baldwin IL and McCoy E (1932) Root Nodule Bacteria and Leguminous Plants, pp. 1–343. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. | |
| book Hardy RWF, Bottomley F and Burns RC (eds) (1979) A Treatise on Dinitrogen Fixation, pp. 1–812. New York: John Wiley & Sons. | |
| Kim J and Rees DC (1992) Structural models for the metal centers in the nitrogenase molybdenum–iron protein. Science 257: 1677–1682. | |
| Kim J and Rees DC (1992) Crystallographic structure and functional implications of the nitrogenase molybdenum–iron protein from Azotobacter vinelandii. Nature 360: 553–560. | |
| book Postgate JR (1983) The Fundamentals of Nitrogen Fixation, pp. 1–252. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. | |
| book Stacey G, Burris RH and Evans HJ (eds) (1992) Biological Nitrogen Fixation, pp. 1–943. New York: Chapman & Hall. | |
| book Virtanen AI (1938) Cattle Fodder and Human Nutrition, pp. 1–108. London: Cambridge University Press. | |
| book Wilson PW (1940) The Biochemistry of Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation, pp. 1–302. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. | |
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