Free-Living Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria

As a classification under biological nitrogen fixation, natural systems and agriculture systems are further categorised into several categories of organisms. One such type of microorganisms includes free-living organisms that hardly depend on any other living organism to continue their survival in the environment.

Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria are classified under the same category that places a central role in nitrogen fixation. These most commonly include cyanobacteria, Anabaena and other microorganisms with similar characteristics.

This article will deal with the concept of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and try to understand why it is an essential component when it comes to nitrogen fixation.

Free-Living Nitrogen-Fixation

It refers to the process of nitrogen fixation by heterotrophic bacteria that exist on the near root surfaces and plays the role of a prominent source of nitrogen in several terrestrial ecosystems. It also plays a vital role in agriculture by serving as an alternative to chemical fertilisers.

Free-living nitrogen fixation is also different from other diverse and constantly changing conditions compared to symbiotic nitrogen fixations. Due to this capacity, evaluating the identifying controls for practical implementation in agriculture and other industries often gets challenging.

The process usually includes symbiotic and free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which has consequences for free-living nitrogen fixation that supports crop production and other applications. In some cases, it can also be seen as a subcategory related to symbiotic nitrogen fixation, which can be a reason to have identical environmental characteristics. Thus, it can be said that free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria play a central role in facilitating free-living Nitrogen-fixation.

What are Free-Living Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria?

Synonymously known as non-symbiotic bacteria, free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria are a particular class of bacteria that are not directly dependent on other living organisms for survival. These are usually well adapted to establish their survival in a highly competitive environment while playing an essential role in nitrogen fixation.

Apart from the production of bacterial phytohormone, nitrogen fixation is another crucial process involved in plant growth. However, several hurdles remain fundamental in deciding the plant response. Although organisms such as Azospirillum usually produce acetic acid, it is a free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria that ensures that the entire nitrogen-fixing process is well-regulated.

Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria examples include Anabaena, Cyanobacteria, Clostridium and Beijerinckia.

Importance of Free-Living Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria

Due to their wide-ranging applications, free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria are an essential component of nature. These bacteria do not face the requirement of creating symbiotic relationships with plants to survive. However, it is also necessary because several categories of plants do not establish symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria survive in limited concentration compared to the overall macrobiotic organisms within the soil. However, one of their significant contributions is that it helps form a soil that can separate nitrogen and thin air even when the soil is being used for agriculture purposes. This is especially relevant in the case of crops that do not soil with symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, including wheat and corn.

For agricultural purposes, free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria play a significant role in determining the overall yield. This is achieved by supplying all the nutritional value a plant needs, provided to the soil by plants in exchange for exudates. Therefore, it can be concluded that free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria are an indispensable component of a large part of biological processes.

Role in Biological Nitrogen Fixation

Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria have a significant role to play in biological nitrogen fixation. It is a fixation process used by a specific group of prokaryotes. These organisms use the enzyme nitrogenase to facilitate the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonium.

This process includes breaking down nitrogen into its molecular form within the atmosphere and converting it into compounds using biochemical processes. In addition to this, lightning produces a relatively little amount of ammonia. However, plants can easily assimilate ammonia to produce nitrogenous biomolecules.

Moreover, this category of prokaryotes usually includes free-living soil bacteria such as clostridium, Beijerinckia and Azotobacter. It mainly takes place to establish associative relationships with plants and bacteria, including rhizobium. This establishes a symbiotic relationship with other plants, such as legumes.

Furthermore, it is essential to know that reducing atmospheric nitrogen is an extremely conference process that needs immense energy to proceed with the process. Microorganisms responsible for fixing nitrogen receive this energy upon oxidation of organic molecules. In order to proceed with the process, free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria obtain these molecules from other organisms, while photosynthetic microorganisms utilise substances produced by photosynthesis to host plants.

Conclusion

It would not be wrong to say that free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria play a central role not just in nitrogen fixation but also in agriculture. Although the process of nitrogen fixation can either be natural or man-made, it is usually combined with other elements such as ammonia or nitrates. Nevertheless, when it occurs in the natural ecosystem, free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria play a vital role.