Nitrogen-Fixing Gamma Proteobacteria -A Blueprint for Nitrogen-Fixing Plants?

Microorganisms

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.

Published: October 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • The limited availability of fixed nitrogen is a major constraint on global agricultural production, and while the use of nitrogen fertilizers has supported population growth, it has also led to significant environmental issues.
  • Renewed interest in biological nitrogen fixation seeks to address these nitrogen imbalances by harnessing the natural ability of microbes to convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which plants can use.
  • To effectively engineer crops for nitrogen fixation, creating an optimal environment for this process is crucial, drawing insights from nitrogen-fixing bacteria as a model for developing new agricultural plants.

Article Abstract

The availability of fixed nitrogen limits overall agricultural crop production worldwide. The so-called modern "green revolution" catalyzed by the widespread application of nitrogenous fertilizer has propelled global population growth. It has led to imbalances in global biogeochemical nitrogen cycling, resulting in a "nitrogen problem" that is growing at a similar trajectory to the "carbon problem". As a result of the increasing imbalances in nitrogen cycling and additional environmental problems such as soil acidification, there is renewed and increasing interest in increasing the contributions of biological nitrogen fixation to reduce the inputs of nitrogenous fertilizers in agriculture. Interestingly, biological nitrogen fixation, or life's ability to convert atmospheric dinitrogen to ammonia, is restricted to microbial life and not associated with any known eukaryotes. It is not clear why plants never evolved the ability to fix nitrogen and rather form associations with nitrogen-fixing microorganisms. Perhaps it is because of the large energy demand of the process, the oxygen sensitivity of the enzymatic apparatus, or simply failure to encounter the appropriate selective pressure. Whatever the reason, it is clear that this ability of crop plants, especially cereals, would transform modern agriculture once again. Successfully engineering plants will require creating an oxygen-free niche that can supply ample energy in a tightly regulated manner to minimize energy waste and ensure the ammonia produced is assimilated. Nitrogen-fixing aerobic bacteria can perhaps provide a blueprint for engineering nitrogen-fixing plants. This short review discusses the key features of robust nitrogen fixation in the model nitrogen-fixing aerobe, gamma proteobacteria , in the context of the basic requirements for engineering nitrogen-fixing plants.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11509896PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12102087DOI Listing

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