nitrogen fixer

noun

1. any of various microorganisms in the soil involved in the process of nitrogen fixation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nitrogen fixer¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

"For years, we have been finding gene fragments encoding the nitrogen-fixing nitrogenase enzyme, which appeared to belong to one particular non-cyanobacterial nitrogen fixer," says Marcel Kuypers, lead author on the study.

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They collected hundreds of liters of seawater from the region, in which a large part of global marine nitrogen fixation takes place, hoping to both identify and quantify the importance of the mysterious nitrogen fixer.

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"We were finding sets of four Rhizobia, always sitting in the same spot inside the diatoms," says Kuypers, "It was very exciting as this is the first known symbiosis between a diatom and a non-cyanobacterial nitrogen fixer."

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Having finally worked out the identity of the missing nitrogen fixer, they focused their attention on working out how the bacteria and diatom live in partnership.

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Finally, the simulations from the authors’ biogeochemistry–ecology model consider essentially just one type of nitrogen fixer, whereas a diverse range of organisms are capable of nitrogen fixation14.

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