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Is the Variable Oxygen Permeability in Nodules a Physical or a Physiological Phenomenon?

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Biological Fixation of Nitrogen for Ecology and Sustainable Agriculture

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIG,volume 39))

Abstract

Beside persistent adaptations (e.g. nodule morphology or nodule number) of N2 fixing symbiotic systems to distinct environmental conditions, there exist highly flexible mechanisms to quickly and reversibly change N2 fixing- (nitrogenase) activity in the root nodules. Such changes usually take place within less than an hour to up to three to four hours (Witty et al. 1984; Hartwig et al. 1987). Due to the fact that quickly depressed nitrogenase activity can be reversed by supplying an elevated rhizospheric pO2 this mechanism is usually referred to as “changing O2 permeability”, “changing O2 diffusion resistance” or “changing O2 barrier”, however without really understanding the underlying mechanisms.

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hartwig, U.A. et al. (1997). Is the Variable Oxygen Permeability in Nodules a Physical or a Physiological Phenomenon?. In: Legocki, A., Bothe, H., Pühler, A. (eds) Biological Fixation of Nitrogen for Ecology and Sustainable Agriculture. NATO ASI Series, vol 39. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59112-9_49

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59112-9_49

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-63855-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59112-9

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