Nitrogen (N2) fixation is a major source of available N in ecosystems that receive low amounts of atmospheric N deposition. In boreal forest and subarctic tundra, the feather moss Hylocomium splendens is colonized by N2 fixing cyanobacteria that could contribute fundamentally to increase the N pool in these ecosystems. However, N2 fixation in mosses is inhibited by N input. Although this has be...

Nitrogen-fixing, plant-growth promoting bacteria are arguably the biotechnological tool of highest potential to improve agricultural productivity in short term. Nitrogen fixation and phytohormone production by these bacteria have been considered the most important factors for plant growth promotion. However, the underlying mechanisms responsible for productivity increases by associative bacteri...

Enterobacter sp. strain R4-368 is one of the few characterized Jatropha endophytic diazotrophic bacteria and was isolated from surface-sterilized roots. This bacterium shows strong growth-promoting effects, being able to increase plant biomass and seed yields. Enterobacter sp. R4-368 is the second fully sequenced diazotrophic Enterobacter species. The sequence information shall facilitate the e...

Cyanobacteria are phototrophic bacteria carrying out oxygen-producing photosynthesis. Indeed, cyanobacteria were the inventors of oxygenic photosynthesis carried out by eukaryotic algae and plants. Besides showing the capability of building their cellular carbon from carbon dioxide, available in the atmosphere, several strains of cyanobacteria have also acquired the ability to fix molecular din...

[1] Nitrogen fixation supports new production in the oligotrophic oceans and removes dinitrogen and carbon dioxide from mixed layer waters. N-fixation rates have been estimated in various ways but measurements are still too rare and factors limiting N-fixation are not yet fully understood. Here we present data from a transect along 10 N through the tropical Atlantic on the Meteor Cruise 55 wher...

Washed rice water (WRW) is said to be a beneficial plant fertilizer because of its nutrient content. However, rigorous scientific studies ascertain efficiency are lacking. The purpose this study was determine the effect fermenting WRW on bacterial population and identification, measure how fermentation affects composition WRW. Rice grains were washed in volumetric water-to-rice ratio 3:1 at con...