Describing organisms, primarily certain bacteria, that can convert atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia or other nitrogen compounds that plants can use. This process is essential for making nitrogen available to living organisms since most cannot use nitrogen gas directly.
The term combines 'nitrogen' from Greek 'nitron' (saltpeter) and 'genes' (forming), with 'fixing' meaning to make stable or usable. The concept developed in the early 20th century when scientists discovered how certain bacteria make atmospheric nitrogen biologically available.
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are the unsung heroes of life on Earth! Without them, the abundant nitrogen gas in our atmosphere would be useless to living things—these microscopic organisms literally pull nitrogen from thin air and transform it into the building blocks of proteins and DNA that all life depends on.
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