Vanadium nitrogenase fuels forest moss N fixation
Vanadium nitrogenase was active in most valid moss and lichen samples across three continents, averaging about 40% of moss N2 fixation.
Source
Global Role of Vanadium for Cryptogamic Nitrogen Fixation in Extratropical Forests
Study at a glance
- Design
- Cross-sectional — LISARA assays of moss and lichen V-nitrogenase across three continents
- N
- N=109 · 109 sampling plots (>40 sites, 9 locations); multiple cryptogam samples per plot
- Population
- Mosses and lichens in extratropical forests of North America, South America, and East Asia
- Outcome
- Share of biological N2 fixation attributable to vanadium nitrogenase
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Vanadium nitrogenase fuels forest moss N fixation
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
Where were cryptogams collected?
over 40 sites across 9 locations located on three continents
What they did
Used low-activity isotopic acetylene reduction (LISARA) on cryptogams from over 40 sites in 9 locations across North America, South America, and East Asia.
What they found
V-Nase occurred in 68±20% of samples by site (79% of valid assays), 15 of 28 genera, from 28% of Hokkaido samples to 94% in North Carolina; mosses ~40% and lichens ~25% of BNF.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Isotopes cannot yet separate V-only from Fe-only nitrogenase, and assays do not scale measured rates to a global N budget.
Key terms
- V-Nase
- Vanadium-based alternative nitrogenase used when molybdenum is scarce.
- BNF
- Biological nitrogen fixation converting N2 into biologically available N.
- LISARA
- Low-activity isotopic acetylene reduction assay that distinguishes Mo vs alternative nitrogenases.
- Cryptogams
- Mosses, lichens, and similar non-seed covers that host N-fixing microbes.
- Mo-Nase
- Canonical molybdenum nitrogenase, the textbook N2-fixing enzyme.
- Acetylene reduction
- Proxy assay in which nitrogenase reduces acetylene to ethylene.
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Sampling scope:
Common questions
Sites?
Over 40 sites, 9 locations, 3 continents.
Positive V-Nase share?
68±20% of samples by location; 79% of valid assays.
Moss vs lichen V share?
About 40% vs 25% of specimen BNF.
Genera with V-Nase?
15 of 28 tested.
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