On the Fixation of Atmospheric Nitrogen by Phoma Radicis Callunae, including a New Method for Investigating Nitrogenfixation in Micro-Organisms

(1) Evidence from chemical analyses of seeds of Calluna mdgaris and of seedlings grown on a nitrogen-free medium confirms the view that this plant can obtain nitrogenous supplies from the air, probably in the form of molecular nitrogen, in sufficient amount to prevent the advent of any symptoms of nitrogen starvation. (2) A new apparatus for the investigation of nitrogen-fixation by micro-organisms is described. (3) Using the above apparatus, experiments on the mycorrhizal fungus of Calluna vulgaris are described in which this organism was grown in pure culture on a nitrogen-free medium with and without a supply of molecular nitrogen. The evidence obtained indicates that the amount of glucose used by the fungus during growth, and the amount of nitrogen contained in the culture at the end of the growth period are greater under the former condition. It is concluded that the fungus in question can utilise the molecular nitrogen of the air in some degree under the conditions of the experiments, although these were not the most favourable possible for nitrogen-fixation. It is considered that the results obtained justify an extension of these experiments using a strain of the fungus freshly extracted from the Calluna plant.