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Diazotrophs
Diazotrophs are bacteria and archaea that fix gaseous nitrogen in the atmosphere into a more usable form such as ammonia. A diazotroph is a microorganism that is able to grow without external sources of fixed nitrogen. Examples of organisms that do this are rhizobia and ''Frankia'' (in symbiosis) and ''Azospirillum''. All diazotrophs contain iron-molybdenum or iron-vanadium nitrogenase systems. Two of the most studied systems are those of ''Klebsiella pneumoniae'' and ''Azotobacter vinelandii''. These systems are studied because of their genetic tractability and their fast growth. Etymology The word diazotroph is derived from the words ''diazo'' ("di" = two + "azo" = nitrogen) meaning "dinitrogen (N2)" and ''troph'' meaning "pertaining to food or nourishment", in summary dinitrogen utilizing. The word ''azote'' means nitrogen in French and was named by French chemist and biologist Antoine Lavoisier, who saw it as the part of air which cannot sustain life. Types of diazotrophs Diaz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trichodesmium
''Trichodesmium'', also called sea sawdust, is a genus of Filamentation, filamentous cyanobacteria. They are found in nutrient poor tropical and subtropical ocean waters (particularly around Australia and in the Red Sea, where they were first described by Captain Cook). ''Trichodesmium'' is a diazotroph; that is, it nitrogen fixation, fixes atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium, a nutrient used by other organisms. ''Trichodesmium'' is thought to fix nitrogen on such a scale that it accounts for almost half of the nitrogen fixation in marine systems globally. ''Trichodesmium'' is the only known diazotroph able to nitrogen fixation, fix nitrogen in daylight under aerobic conditions without the use of heterocysts. ''Trichodesmium'' can live as individual filaments, with tens to hundreds of cells strung together, or in colonies consisting of tens to hundreds of filaments clustered together. These colonies are visible to the naked eye and sometimes form blooms, which can be extensive on s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep biosphere of Earth's crust. Bacteria are vital in many stages of the nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients such as the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere. The nutrient cycle includes the decomposition of dead bodies; bacteria are responsible for the putrefaction stage in this process. In the biological communities surrounding hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, extremophile bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds, such as hydrogen sulphide and methane, to energy. Bacteria also live in symbiotic and parasitic relationsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrogen Fixation
Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular nitrogen (), with a strong triple covalent bond, in the air is converted into ammonia () or related nitrogenous compounds, typically in soil or aquatic systems but also in industry. Atmospheric nitrogen is molecular dinitrogen, a relatively nonreactive molecule that is metabolically useless to all but a few microorganisms. Biological nitrogen fixation or ''diazotrophy'' is an important microbials mediated process that converts dinitrogen (N2) gas to ammonia (NH3) using the nitrogenase protein complex (Nif). Nitrogen fixation is essential to life because fixed inorganic nitrogen compounds are required for the biosynthesis of all nitrogen-containing organic compounds, such as amino acids and proteins, nucleoside triphosphates and nucleic acids. As part of the nitrogen cycle, it is essential for agriculture and the manufacture of fertilizer. It is also, indirectly, relevant to the manufacture of all nitrogen chemical c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bacterial
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep biosphere of Earth's crust. Bacteria are vital in many stages of the nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients such as the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere. The nutrient cycle includes the decomposition of dead bodies; bacteria are responsible for the putrefaction stage in this process. In the biological communities surrounding hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, extremophile bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds, such as hydrogen sulphide and methane, to energy. Bacteria also live in symbiotic and parasitic relationships ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escherichia Intermedia
''Escherichia'' () is a genus of Gram-negative, non- spore-forming, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria from the family Enterobacteriaceae. In those species which are inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, ''Escherichia'' species provide a portion of the microbially derived vitamin K for their host. A number of the species of ''Escherichia'' are pathogenic. The genus is named after Theodor Escherich, the discoverer of ''Escherichia coli''. ''Escherichia'' are facultative aerobes, with both aerobic and anaerobic growth, and an optimum temperature of 37 °C. ''Escherichia'' are usually motile by flagella, produce gas from fermentable carbohydrates, and do not decarboxylate lysine or hydrolyze arginine. Species include '' E. albertii'', '' E. fergusonii'', '' E. hermannii'', '' E. marmotae'' and most notably, the model organism and clinically relevant '' E. coli''. '' Shimwellia blattae'' was formerly classified in this genus. Pathogenesis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert E
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honour, praise, renown" and ''berht'' "bright, light, shining"). It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin. It is also in use as a surname. Another commonly used form of the name is Rupert. After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form ''Robert'', where an Old English cognate form (''Hrēodbēorht'', ''Hrodberht'', ''Hrēodbēorð'', ''Hrœdbœrð'', ''Hrœdberð'', ''Hrōðberχtŕ'') had existed before the Norman Conquest. The feminine version is Roberta. The Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish form is Roberto. Robert is also a common name in many Germanic languages, including English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Scots, Danish, and Icelandic. It can be use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anoxygenic Photosynthesis
Bacterial anoxygenic photosynthesis differs from the better known oxygenic photosynthesis in plants by the reductant used (e.g. hydrogen sulfide instead of water) and the byproduct generated (e.g. elemental sulfur instead of molecular oxygen). Bacteria and archaea Several groups of bacteria can conduct anoxygenic photosynthesis: green sulfur bacteria (GSB), red and green filamentous phototrophs (FAPs e.g. Chloroflexia), purple bacteria, acidobacteriota, and heliobacteria. Some archaea (e.g. ''Halobacterium'') capture light energy for metabolic function and are thus phototrophic but none are known to "fix" carbon (i.e. be photosynthetic). Instead of a chlorophyll-type receptor and electron transport chain, proteins such as halorhodopsin capture light energy with the aid of diterpenes to move ions against a gradient and produce ATP via chemiosmosis in the manner of mitochondria. Pigments The pigments used to carry out anaerobic photosynthesis are similar to chlorophyll but diffe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyanothece
''Cyanothece'' is a genus of unicellular, diazotrophic, oxygenic photosynthesizing cyanobacteria. Modern organisms and cellular organization In 1976, Jiří Komárek defined the prokaryotic cyanobacteria genus ''Cyanothece'' as distinct from ''Synechococcus'' NAG 1949. Organisms in both genera share characteristics in addition to being oxygenic phototrophs. They are both unicellular, forming aggregates, but not found in mucilaginous colonies. They may have a thin mucilage layer around each cell. Both genera also divide by binary fission along an axis perpendicular to the cell's longitudinal axis. A handful of characteristics distinguish the two genera. While ''Synechococcus'' species are usually cylindrical, ''Cyanothece'' species are normally oval and longer than 3 μm., ''Cyanothece’s'' outer cell wall layer is relatively thick and contains spherical, glassy Vesicle (biology and chemistry), vesicles whose function has yet to be defined. ''Cyanothece’s'' nucleoids ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synechococcus
''Synechococcus'' (from the Greek ''synechos'', in succession, and the Greek ''kokkos'', granule) is a unicellular cyanobacterium that is very widespread in the marine environment. Its size varies from 0.8 to 1.5 µm. The photosynthetic coccoid cells are preferentially found in well–lit surface waters where it can be very abundant (generally 1,000 to 200,000 cells per ml). Many freshwater species of ''Synechococcus'' have also been described. The genome of ''S. elongatus'' strain PCC7002 has a size of 3,008,047 bp, whereas the oceanic strain WH8102 has a genome of size 2.4 Mbp. Introduction ''Synechococcus'' is one of the most important components of the prokaryotic autotrophic picoplankton in the temperate to tropical oceans. The genus was first described in 1979, and was originally defined to include "small unicellular cyanobacteria with ovoid to cylindrical cells that reproduce by binary traverse fission in a single plane and lack sheaths". This definition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prochlorococcus
''Prochlorococcus'' is a genus of very small (0.6 μm) marine cyanobacteria with an unusual pigmentation ( chlorophyll ''a2'' and ''b2''). These bacteria belong to the photosynthetic picoplankton and are probably the most abundant photosynthetic organism on Earth. ''Prochlorococcus'' microbes are among the major primary producers in the ocean, responsible for a large percentage of the photosynthetic production of oxygen.Munn, C. ''Marine Microbiology: ecology and applications Second Ed.'' Garland Science, 2011. Prochlorococcus strains, called ecotypes, have physiological differences enabling them to exploit different ecological niches. Analysis of the genome sequences of ''Prochlorococcus'' strains show that 1,273 genes are common to all strains, and the average genome size is about 2,000 genes. In contrast, eukaryotic algae have over 10,000 genes. Discovery Although there had been several earlier records of very small chlorophyll-''b''-containing cyanobacteria in the ocean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nostoc Commune
''Nostoc commune'' is a species of cyanobacterium in the family Nostocaceae. Common names include star jelly, witch's butter, mare's eggs, fah-tsai and facai. It is the type species of the genus ''Nostoc'' and is cosmopolitan in distribution. Description ''Nostoc commune'' is a colonial species of cyanobacterium. It initially forms a small, hollow gelatinous globule which grows and becomes leathery, flattened and convoluted, forming a gelatinous mass with other colonies growing nearby. Inside the thin sheath are numerous unbranched hair-like structures called trichomes formed of short cells in a string. The cells are bacteria and thus have no nucleus nor internal membrane system. To multiply, they form two new cells when they divide by binary fission. Along the trichomes, larger specialist nitrogen-fixing cells called heterocysts occur between the ordinary cells. When wet, ''Nostoc commune'' is bluish-green, olive green or brown but in dry conditions it becomes an inconspicuous, c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
