The use of 15N-labelled dinitrogen in the study of nitrogen fixation by blue-green algae

Prior to the development of the acetylene reduction technique 15N was used as the main qualitative and quantitative measure of nitrogen fixation by free-living cyanobacteria in a variety of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Despite its expense and the technical difficulty, 15N is a major tool in the study of cyanobacteria, for example, incorporation of 15N2 is the definitive test for nitrogen fixation; it is used in the determination of the correct ratio of acetylene reduction to nitrogen fixation, in in situ nitrogen fixation assays, in tracing the formation and fate of extra-cellular nitrogen and in measuring the turnover and grazing rates of cyanobacterial intra-cellular nitrogen. These latter studies show that 15N-labelled extra-cellular nitrogen can serve as nitrogen sources for a variety of bacteria, fungi, algae and higher plants, and that cyanobacteria are graced and digested by a variety of animals. The turnover rates of cyanobacterial 15N-labelled cells are dependent on the type of cell, species, environmental conditions and the availability of degrading organisms. The breakdown products are rapidly mineralised and used as nitrogen sources by higher plants. (author)