Nitrogen Cycling Lab Report

Nitrogen cycling is a vital factor in how plants and organisms survive in ecosystems. Different genes in bacteria DNA allows for NO₃, in plants, to be converted to N₂ without releasing N₂O into the atmosphere. With a better understanding of which gene can convert N₂O to N₂, people can have a better understanding of what factors affect the nitrogen cycle. The genes that are responsible for converting NO₃ to N₂ are nirk, cnor, qnor, and nosz. Nosz is responsible for coding enzymes to convert N₂O to N₂ Using a DNA Isolation Kit, we were able to take DNA from the microbial community and amplified the specific genes using a PCR system. From the PCR, we were able to find the results of the presence of the four genes of bacteria at different soil sites. Before finding the results of the gene presence, we hypothesized that nosz, which …show more content…
After amplifying the specific genes from microbial DNA at different sites, we found that nosz was more present in soils under aerobic conditions than under anaerobic conditions. This could be due to the fact that there is less nitrogen in water than in soil. Introduction: Nitrogen cycling allows for living organisms to survive in ecosystems. The nitrogen cycle consists of N₂ from the atmosphere being changed and converted to NO₃ for organisms to properly and then back to N₂. This process of converting N₂ to NO₃ is called nitrogen fixation. First, bacteria microbes will convert N₂ to NH₃ and then to NH₄. This part of nitrogen fixation is known as ammonification. The NH₄ is then converted to NO₂ and then to NO₃. This part of nitrogen fixation is known as nitrification. After this process, plants can safely absorb the