Describe the movement of an atom of nitrogen from the leaf of a plant, through the process of decomposition, and back into the root of another plant.

Your response should be at least 200 words in length.

Answer:

The movement of an atom of Nitrogen from the leaf of a plant, through the process of decomposition, and back into the root of another plant :-

Nitrogen is the most abundant element in Earth's atmosphere. Approximately 78% of the atmosphere is made up of nitrogen gas (N_??????2).

Nitrogen cycle is of particular interest to ecologists because nitrogen available can affect the rate of key ecosystem processes, including primary production and decomposition. Here we discuss about the movement of an atom nitrogen from the leaf of a plant, through the process of decomposition, and back into the root of another plant.

Decomposition-When a plant die ,it mixes with soil, water etc. Or sometime animals eat a plant's leaf or the whole of the plant. When animals excrete waste, the nitrogen components in organic matter re-enter the soil where they are broken down by microorganisms, known as decomposers. Bacteria or fungi convert the organic nitrogen within thr remain back into ammonium, a process called ammonification. Enzymes involved are:

GS: Gln Synthetase (Cytosolic and Plastic)

GOGAT: Glu 2- oxoglitrate aminotransferase (Ferredoxin and NADH- dependent)

GDH: Glu Dehydrogenase:-

Minor role in ammonium assimilation.

Important in amino acid catabolism.

Nitrification- A group of free living soil bacteria called nitrifying bacteria convert ammonium into nitrates in order to obtain energy. The primary stage of nitrification, the oxidation of ammonium is performed by bacteria such as Nitrosomonas species, which converts ammonia to nitrites . Other bacterial species such as Nitrobacter, are responsible for the oxidation of the nitrites into nitrstes. It is very important for the ammonia to be converted to nitrates or nitrites because ammonia gas is toxic to plant.

Uptake of nitrates- This nitrates absorb by another plants from the soil into their roots and use the nitrates to produce their proteins.

Denitrification- This is when bacteria in the soil convert the nitrate back into nitrogen gas which then gets released back into the atmosphere. This process is performed by bacterial species such as Pseudomonas and Paracoccus under anaerobic condition. These bacteria use nitrates in the soil to carry out respiration and consequently produce nitrogen gas.