Nitrogenase--hydrogenase interrelationships in Rhizobia

Abstract

A review is given of the properties of the hydrogenase present in Rhizobium bacteriods together with a discussion and evidence of the function of the enzyme in relationship to nitrogen fixation. The efficiency with which nodules fix nitrogen i.e. the amount of hydrogen evolved as a ratio of the total electron flow through nitrogenase, is considered and the recycling of hydrogen is discussed. Attention is drawn to recent work, in which plants which have nodules containing hydrogenase have been shown to fix more nitrogen and increase more in dry matter than plants with nodules without hydrogenase.