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Science 25 November 1988:
Vol. 242. no. 4882, pp. 1157 - 1159
DOI: 10.1126/science.242.4882.1157
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Articles

Nitrogen Fixation by Anaerobic Cellulolytic Bacteria

S. B. Leschine 1, K. Holwell 1, and E. Canale-Parola 1

1 Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003

Four strains of anaerobic nitrogen-fixing, cellulose-fermenting bacteria were isolated in pure culture from freshwater mud and soil. Nitrogenase activity was demonstrated in these strains and also in several previously described anaerobic cellulolytic bacteria isolated from various natural environments. These are the first anaerobic bacteria known to use cellulose as an energy source for nitrogen fixation. Because cellulose is a plant polysaccharide that abounds in nature, these results raise the possibility that nitrogen-fixing, cellulose-fermenting bacteria may be widespread and thus play a major role in carbon and nitrogen cycling.

Submitted on June 27, 1988
Accepted on September 28, 1988


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Flux Analysis of the Metabolism of Clostridium cellulolyticum Grown in Cellulose-Fed Continuous Culture on a Chemically Defined Medium under Ammonium-Limited Conditions.
M. Desvaux and H. Petitdemange (2001)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 67, 3846-3851
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)