Nitrogen fixation in cottonwood wetwood

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1118-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. van der Kamp
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Acetylene Reduction ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Reduction Method ◽  
Black Cottonwood ◽  
Significant Phenomenon

Samples of wetwood from four living western black cottonwood (Populustrichocarpa Torr. and Gray) trees growing near Vancouver, B.C., were incubated anaerobically with acetylene to detect nitrogen fixation using the acetylene-reduction method. Significant acetylene reduction was detected in all trees and ranged up to 5.16 nmol acetylene g–1 day−1. It is suggested that nitrogen fixation in wetwood may be a significant phenomenon in forest ecosystems.

Estimate of nitrogen fixation on leaf surfaces of forest species in Minnesota and Oregon

1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 474-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Sucoff
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Acetylene Reduction ◽  
Reduction Method ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Shrub Species ◽  
Nitrogen Economy ◽  
Upper Limits ◽  
Leaf Surfaces

Leafy branches from 52 tree or shrub species collected from Minnesota forests during July and August, 1976, and (or) May and September, 1977, were tested for their ability to fix nitrogen. Seven species were similarly sampled in western Oregon during November, 1976. Nitrogen fixation was assessed by the acetylene reduction method. Little, if any, acetylene reduction was detected on branches without epiphytes. The upper limits of possible nitrogen fixation on the leaf surfaces were below amounts important in the nitrogen economy of the stands.

Nitrogen fixation in forests of central Massachusetts

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Tjepkema
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Acetylene Reduction ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Reduction Method ◽  
Old Fields ◽  
Soil Cores ◽  
Nitrogen Inputs ◽  
Woody Litter

The acetylene reduction method was used to measure nitrogen fixation in soil cores of 16 cm diameter and 16 cm depth that included A and B horizon soil, roots, and decaying litter. Forty-three combinations of location and associated tree species were sampled. The rate of nitrogen fixation for most soil cores was 1 g N ha−1 day−1 or less, which extrapolates to less than 0.2 kg N ha−1 year−1. The highest rates, with values of up to 23 g N ha−1 day−1, were observed in old fields being invaded by trees. The time course of acetylene reduction was usually linear for a 24-h period, most of the activity was in the upper 15 cm of soil, and the maximum rates were observed in midsummer. No significant nitrogen fixation was observed in preliminary measurements of decaying woody litter or of aerial surfaces of trees and rocks. It is suggested that nitrogen fixation is not a significant input of nitrogen for the forests studied. If so, there may be significant unrecognized nitrogen inputs to forests, such as dry absorption of ammonia from the atmosphere.

The temperature dependence of thallus nitrogenase activity in Peltigera canina

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 527-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Maikawa ◽  
K. A. Kershaw
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Temperature Dependence ◽  
Soil Nitrogen ◽  
Acetylene Reduction ◽  
Reduction Method ◽  
Nitrogenase Activity ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Peltigera Canina

Comparative rates of nitrogen fixation in the lichen Peltigera canina from subarctic and temperate habitats have been examined using the acetylene reduction method. Maximum acetylene reduction at thallus saturation and with 20000 lx illumination takes place at 16 °C in subarctic material and at 21 °C in temperate material. This adaptation of nitrogenase activity to temperature in P. canina is discussed in relation to low levels of soil nitrogen in arctic systems.

Overexpression of the dctA gene in Rhizobium meliloti: effect on transport of C4 dicarboxylates and symbiotic nitrogen fixation

1992 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 555-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vipin Rastogi ◽  
Monika Labes ◽  
Turlough Finan ◽  
Robert Watson
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Acetylene Reduction ◽  
Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Plasmid Stability ◽  
Rhizobium Meliloti ◽  
Mrna Synthesis ◽  
Dicarboxylate Transport ◽  
Fusion Strain ◽  
Tryptophan Operon ◽  
Specific Mrna

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation may be limited by the transport of C4 dicarboxylates into bacteroids in the nodule for use as a carbon and energy source. In an attempt to increase dicarboxylate transport, a plasmid was constructed in which the Rhizobium meliloti structural transport gene dctA was fused to a tryptophan operon promoter from Salmonella typhimurium, trpPO. This resulted in a functional dctA gene that was no longer under the control of the dctBD regulatory genes, but the recombinant plasmid was found to be unstable in R. meliloti. To stably integrate the trpPO-dctA fusion, it was recloned into pBR325 and recombined into the R. meliloti exo megaplasmid in the dctABD region. The resultant strain showed constitutive dctA-specific mRNA synthesis which was about 5-fold higher than that found in fully induced wild-type cells. Uptake assays showed that [14C]succinate transport by the trpPO-dctA fusion strain was constitutive, and the transport rate was the same as that of induced control cells. Acetylene reduction assays indicated a significantly higher rate of nitrogen fixation in plants inoculated with the trpPO-dctA fusion strain compared with the control. Despite this apparent increase, the plants had the same top dry weights as those inoculated with control cells. Key words: acetylene reduction, genetic engineering, nodule, plasmid stability, promoter.

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