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Science 16 November 2001:
Vol. 294. no. 5546, p. 1413
DOI: 10.1126/science.294.5546.1413h
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The oxygen that cyanobacteria release during photosynthesis is anathema to nitrogen fixation, but most cyanobacteria have resolved this problem by differentiating specialized cells called heterocysts. Trichodesmium is a ubiquitous cyanobacterium that makes a significant contribution to marine nitrogen fixation, but it does not possess heterocysts. Instead, as Berman-Frank et al. (p. 1534; see the news story by Pennisi) have discovered, it partitions photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation temporally within the photoperiod. When nitrogen fixation is maximal, photosystem II activity is minimal; nevertheless, linear photosynthetic electron transport still appears to be needed.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)