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Nitrogen is a major constituent of several of the most important plant substances. For example, nitrogen compounds comprise 40% to 50% of the dry matter of protoplasm, and it is a constituent of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. [9] It is also an essential constituent of chlorophyll. [10]
Nitrogen is a fundamental nutrient in agriculture, playing a crucial role in plant growth and development. It is an essential component of proteins, enzymes , chlorophyll , and nucleic acids , all of which are essential for various metabolic processes within plants. [ 2 ]
Nitrogen is the most critical element obtained by plants from the soil, to the exception of moist tropical forests where phosphorus is the limiting soil nutrient, [36] and nitrogen deficiency often limits plant growth. [37] Plants can use nitrogen as either the ammonium cation (NH 4 +) or the anion nitrate (NO 3 −).
Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include those of the legume family—Fabaceae— with taxa such as kudzu, clover, soybean, alfalfa, lupin, peanut and rooibos. [45] They contain symbiotic rhizobia bacteria within nodules in their root systems, producing nitrogen compounds that help the plant to grow and compete with other plants. [58]
Nitrogen is therefore a necessary ingredient in the production of proteins. Hence, legumes are among the best sources of plant protein. [citation needed] When a legume plant dies in the field, for example following the harvest, all of its remaining nitrogen, incorporated into amino acids inside the remaining plant parts, is released back into ...
Nitrogen is the most commonly limiting nutrient in plants. Legumes use nitrogen fixing bacteria, specifically symbiotic rhizobia bacteria, within their root nodules to counter the limitation. Rhizobia bacteria convert nitrogen gas (N 2) to ammonia (NH 3) in a process called nitrogen fixation.
Nitrogen is a constituent of every major pharmacological drug class, including antibiotics. Many drugs are mimics or prodrugs of natural nitrogen-containing signal molecules: for example, the organic nitrates nitroglycerin and nitroprusside control blood pressure by metabolising into nitric oxide.
Although nitrogen makes up most of the atmosphere, it is in a form that is unavailable to plants. Nitrogen is the most important fertilizer since nitrogen is present in proteins (amide bonds between amino acids), DNA (puric and pyrimidic bases), and other components (e.g., tetrapyrrolic heme in chlorophyll). To be nutritious to plants, nitrogen ...