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Metabolism (/ m ə ˈ t æ b ə l ɪ z ə m /, from Greek: μεταβολή metabolē, "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms.The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the conversion of food to building blocks of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the ...
Nitrogen is a fundamental chemical component of amino acids, the molecular building blocks of protein. As such, nitrogen balance may be used as an index of protein metabolism. [1] When more nitrogen is gained than lost by an individual, they are considered to have a positive nitrogen balance and be in a state of overall protein anabolism.
The nitrogen cycle is an important process in the ocean as well. While the overall cycle is similar, there are different players [40] and modes of transfer for nitrogen in the ocean. Nitrogen enters the water through the precipitation, runoff, or as N 2 from the atmosphere. Nitrogen cannot be utilized by phytoplankton as N
The nitrogen compounds through which excess nitrogen is eliminated from organisms are called nitrogenous wastes (/ n aɪ ˈ t r ɒ dʒ ɪ n ə s /) or nitrogen wastes. They are ammonia, urea, uric acid, and creatinine. All of these substances are produced from protein metabolism.
A large fraction of the chemical elements that occur naturally on the Earth's surface are essential to the structure and metabolism of living things. Four of these elements (hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen) are essential to every living thing and collectively make up 99% of the mass of protoplasm. [1]
Nitrogen cycle. Nitrification is the biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate via the intermediary nitrite.Nitrification is an important step in the nitrogen cycle in soil.The process of complete nitrification may occur through separate organisms [1] or entirely within one organism, as in comammox bacteria.
In microbial nitrogen metabolism, the occurrence of hydrazine as an intermediate is rare. [36] Hydrazine has been proposed as an enzyme-bound intermediate in the nitrogenase reaction. [37] Recently, using detailed molecular analyses and combining complementary methods, Kartal and coworkers published strong evidence supporting the latter mechanism.
In the nitrogen cycle, atmospheric nitrogen gas is converted by plants into usable forms such as ammonia and nitrates through the process of nitrogen fixation. These compounds can be used by other organisms, and nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere through denitrification and other processes.