IPFS News Link • Science
Important Advance in Nitrogen Fixing
• arcleinBiological nitrogen fixation - where diazotrophic bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen and convert it to ammonium - provides a free way for plants to alter and absorb the nutrient. Farmers have long known that legumes like soybean fix nitrogen due to the symbiosis with bacteria in the soil through development of nodules on their roots, but since grasses like corn and rice don't form this specialized structures that relationship has been trickier to explore.