scholarly journals Factors Influencing Nitrogenase Activity (Acetylene Reduction) by Root Nodules of Groundnut, Arachis hypogaea L.

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. T. C. Nambiar ◽  
P. J. Dart

Abstract Acetylene reduction assay, used to measure nitrogenase activity of legume root nodules, is influenced by environmental factors, which limit its application. The effects of some of the environmental factors on acetylene reduction by groundnut root nodules are described. The activity was nonlinear during the first hour of incubation. Assay temperature above 25 C decreased the activity. Washing the nodulated roots prior to the assay also decreased the activity. The activity was influenced by light intensity, soil moisture, and moisture content in the incubation bottle. Diurnal fluctuation with one maximum and one minimum activity period during a 24 hour cycle was observed. Nitrogenase activity was higher during the postrainy season compared to that of the rainy season. A virginia cultivar Kadiri-71 had higher nitrogenase activity than a dwarf valencia cultivar, MH 2.

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 284-289
Author(s):  
S. Kanimoli ◽  
K. Kumar

The present study was carried out to evaluate the nitrogen fixing ability of diazotrophs isolated from the rhizosphere soils of rice which were grown in three different rice growing systems. A total of hundred and ten isolates obtained were subjected to Acetylene Reduction Assay (ARA) and ninety eight isolates recorded significant amount of nitrogenase activity in a range of 185.73 to 3794.55 nmoles of ethylene mg of protein-1 h-1. The highest nitrogenase activity was recorded by Derxia (3794.55 nmoles of ethylene mg of protein-1 h-1) isolated from Trichy (lowland). Among the three different rice production systems, isolates obtained from lowland rice (Derxia – 3794.5 nmoles of ethylene mg of protein-1 h-1) recorded higher nitrogenase activity followed by Aerobic (Pseudomonas - 2194.89 nmoles of ethylene mg of protein-1 h-1) and SRI (Azotobacter - 1971.85 nmoles of ethylene mg of protein-1 h-1) rice isolates. The results revealed marked variation in the ARA of the diazotrophic isolates obtained from lowland, SRI and Aerobic rice. The nitrogenase activity of diazotrophs from rice fields have been reported earlier but the nitrogenase activity of diazotrophs from three different rice production systems from various parts of Tamil Nadu is reported for the first time from India.


2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (9) ◽  
pp. 1010-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christa R Schwintzer ◽  
John D Tjepkema

In wet soils, nitrogen-fixing root nodules are subjected to elevated CO2. Only a few studies have examined the effect of elevated CO2 on nitrogenase activity, and the results have been mixed. We examined intact black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.) and sweet gale (Myrica gale L.) seedlings and field-collected speckled alder (Alnus incana ssp. rugosa (Du Roi) Claus.) nodules to clarify the effects of elevated CO2. Nitrogenase activity was measured via acetylene reduction in an open, flow-through system. We found that repeated measurements of the peak rate of nitrogenase activity, the only reliable measure of nitrogenase activity, could be made on the same plant via 150-s exposures to acetylene separated by 20 min without acetylene. Our results for elevated CO2 consistently showed that it had little effect on nitrogenase activity at low concentrations and increasingly inhibited nitrogenase activity as the CO2 concentration increased. In black alder, 0.5 kPa CO2 had little effect, whereas 3.0 kPa CO2 reduced nitrogenase activity 31–35%. Sweet gale, was less sensitive to elevated CO2 and was unaffected by 1.5 kPa CO2. Black alder grown with the roots, but not the shoots, in 1.3 kPa CO2 showed only minimal acclimation to elevated CO2.Key words: acetylene reduction technique, actinorhizal plants, Alnus, carbon dioxide, Myrica gale, nitrogen fixation.


1992 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 577-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Ladha ◽  
Minviluz Garcia ◽  
R. P. Pareek ◽  
G. Rarivoson

Six experiments, two each in the phytotron, greenhouse, and field, were conducted to assess the contribution of nitrogenase activity (acetylene reduction) by stem nodules in the presence and absence of root nodules of Sesbania rostrata (Brem & Oberm). In a greenhouse experiment, the effect of detaching already formed aerial stem nodules on the restoration of root nodules and nitrogenase activity was studied. The field experiment compared nodulation and acetylene-reduction activity by dual-nodulating S. rostrata and root-nodulating Sesbania cannabina. Acetylene-reduction activity expressed per gram of nodule dry weight was higher for stem nodules than for root nodules. Root nodule dry weight and acetylene-reduction activity failed to increase after stem inoculation, but root nodule dry weight and acetylene-reduction activity increased several fold within 15 days of detachment of aerial stem nodules. Stem nodulation, which occurred without inoculation under lowland field condition, suppressed root nodulation, thus accounting for more than 75% of total nitrogenase activity. Sesbania rostrata showed higher acetylene-reduction activity than S. cannabina. In dual-nodulating plants, root and stem nodules appeared to strike a balance in competition for energy, which may be controlled by stem nodulation. Key words: Sesbania rostrata, Azorhizobium caulinodans, stem nodule, root nodule, acetylene-reducing activity.


1981 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
AC Lawrie

Nitrogen fixation was studied by the acetylene-reduction technique in root nodules of 10 native Australian legumes in three habitats in Victoria: low open-forest. sandy heathland and coastal sand dunes. Nodular activity reached a maximum in spring (and in autumn in sand-dune species), declined to a minimum in late summer and continued at a low level throughout winter. Mean nitrogenase activity was 1.73 μmol C2H2 reduced g-1 fresh wt nodules h-1, with spring maxima 8-250 times summer minima. It is suggested that variations in rainfall and temperature were the major factors influencing seasonal variations in nodular activity. Estiniates of minimum acetylene reduction per hectare per year were derived from measurements of seasonal and diurnal variations in acetylene reduction and abundance of nodules per hectare, and were used to derive approximate minimum values for nitrogen fixation of 0.004-0.746 kg ha-1 yr-1. The quantities of nitrogen fixed are compared with other reports and the significance of nitrogen fixation by these native legumes is discussed.


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