The Nitrogen Cycle

All life requires nitrogen-compounds, e.g., proteins and nucleic acids. Air, which is 79% nitrogen gas (N2), is the major reservoir of nitrogen. But most organisms cannot use nitrogen in this form.

Plants must secure their nitrogen in "fixed" form, i.e., incorporated in compounds such as:

nitrate ions (NO3) ammonia (NH3) urea (NH2 )2CO

Four processes participate in the cycling of nitrogen

through the biosphere:

nitrogen fixation decay nitrification denitrification

Nitrogen cycle
.

Three processes are responsible for most of the nitrogen

fixation in the biosphere:

atmospheric fixation by lightning biological fixation by certain microbes alone or in a symbiotic relationship with plants industrial fixation

Atmospheric Fixation: Lightining converts N2 into nitrogen oxides, these oxides dissolve in rain to form nitrates. Industrial Fixation: N2 + H2 high pressure/6000C NH3 urea

Biological Fixation: The fixation of N2 by bacteria. Some live in a symbiotic relationship with the legume family (alfalfa, soyabeans) Some nitrogen-fixing bacteria live free in the soil

Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria are essential to maintaining the fertility of semi-aquatic environments like rice paddies.

Decay: protein from plants and animals decay via the action of bacteria to give NH2 Nitrification: ammonia produced by decay is converted into

nitrates by bacteria:Nitrosomonas oxidize NH3 to nitrites (NO2). Nitrobacter oxidize the nitrites to nitrates (NO3).

Denitrification: Denitrification reduces nitrates to nitrogen gas, thus replenishing the atmosphere. Once again bacteria (in the soil) are the agents.

The Nitrogenase complex

A system of enzymes (bacterial in origin) capable of reducing atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia in the presence of ATP. The complex converts atmospheric nitrogen (N2 ) to ammonia according to the following formula (7):N2 + 8H+ + 8e- + 16ATP + 16H2O 2NH3 + H2 + 16ADP + 16pi The Fe-protein dimer is an 64-kD dimer of identical subunits that contains one [ 4Fe 4s] cluster and two ATP binding sites. The MoFe-protein is an 220 kD protein of subunit structure 2 2 that contains Fe and Mo (molybdenum).

The 2 components fix atmospheric nitrogen as described in the following diagrams:

NITROGENASE COMPLEX

Phenylalanine and Tyrosine Biosynthesis

Chorismate + glutamate + H+
Chorismate + glutamate + H+

phenylalanine +
tyrosine +

ketoglutarate

ketoglutarate

Chorismate Prephenate Phenylpyruvate Phenylalanine p-Hydroxyphenyl pyruvate Tyrosine

Tryptophan Biosynthesis
Chorismate + L-Glutamine + 5-Phosphoribosylpyrophosphate (PRPP) + Serine L-Tryptophan + L-Glutamate + Pyruvate + PPi + 2 H2 O + CO2 + D-Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate

Final step in tryptophan synthesis:Indole 3-glycerol phosphate Tryptophan synthase

Tryptophan