EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Nitrogenase catalyzes the breaking of this bond and the addition of three hydrogen atoms to each nitrogen atom. Microorganisms that fix nitrogen require 16 moles of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to reduce each mole of nitrogen (Hubbell & Kidder, 2009). These organisms obtain this energy by oxidizing organic molecules.

Detailed explanation-2: -Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil and within the root nodules of some plants convert nitrogen gas in the atmosphere to ammonia. Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to nitrites or nitrates. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all fixed nitrogen and can be absorbed by plants.

Detailed explanation-3: -Nitrogen is converted from atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into usable forms, such as NO2-, in a process known as fixation. The majority of nitrogen is fixed by bacteria, most of which are symbiotic with plants. Recently fixed ammonia is then converted to biologically useful forms by specialized bacteria.

Detailed explanation-4: -Nitrogen Fixation For nitrogen to be available to make proteins, DNA, and other biologically important compounds, it must first be converted into a different chemical form. The process of converting N2 into biologically available nitrogen is called nitrogen fixation.