Azotobacter vinelandii

[Richter915]

Hey, me and my friends are doing a science project where we take nitrogen fixing bacteria and see how they distribute in soil and if it's beneficial to the plant. We need help as to how the bacteria can proliferate but only using supplies we have in the kitchen. The supplies we have now are the bacteria with the agar they came in, a nitrogen testing kit, and a flourescent lamp. Please help if possible.

 

[tonmo]

Hi Richter915, welcome to the site!

Sounds like an interesting experiment... but I'm not sure you've come to the right place??? Unless the plant is an Octopus Flower...

 

[rrtanton]

Richter...might you be thinking of the frequent discussions we have about anaerobic bacteria in live rock and sandbeds that gobble up our tank's nitrogenous wastes? If so...well, I SHOULD remember this much more clearly than I do... ...but if I DO recall correctly, our bacteria are definitely not your bacteria. Ours take nitrogen from nitrogenous compounts, especially nitrate, and through the various miracles of anaerobic biochemistry (yup, I forget precisely how...boy would my microbio professor thump me!) break that nitrogen free and release it as diatomic nitrogen (N2) gas, which ultimately diffuses/bubbles free of the tank.

Your nitrogen-FIXING bacteria are notable in that they break apart the atmosphere's abundant N2 gas, combine it with other molecules, and release it as a nitrogenous compound ("fixing" it, as in tying it down in a useable form) basically the reverse of what our bugs do. It's an impressive achievement on their part--nitrogen is not terribly reactive. I completely forget why they do this. But it makes plants happy!

rusty

 

[tonmo]

ah... thanks rusty... I should have known we'd have an answer...