Azotobacter is a genus of free-living diazotrophic bacteria whose resting stage is a cyst. It is primarily found in neutral to alkaline soils, in aquatic environments, and on some plants. It has several metabolic capabilties, including atmospheric nitrogen fixation by conversion to ammonia. Their unique system of three distinct nitrogenase enzymes makes these bacteria of particular interest to scientists, who may work toward a better understanding of nitrogen fixation and its role in agriculture. Azotobacter spp. have the highest metabolic rate of any organisms.
Azotobacters, interestingly, contain more DNA than most other bacteria, but their genome size is typical of most prokaryotes. The reason for this above average amount of DNA is not known, but it is possibly because the cells of Azotobacter are larger than those of other bacteria. The DNA of Azotobacter spp. display many similarities, in terms of gene type and recognition factors, to the DNA of Escherichia coli. Genetic information can be transferred between azotobacters or to other bacteria by way of conjugation or transformation. For NCBI's GenBank entry for Azotobacter's unfinished
Diazotrophic organisms such as Azotobacter play a vital role in every ecosystem, working to make nitrogen available to all organisms. Azotobacters and similar bacteria turn nitrogen into ammonia through the process of nitrogen fixation, after which the ammonia is turned into proteins. Nitrogen fixation is used in agriculture in relation to crop rotation and fertilization; soil-dwelling diazotrophs such as Azotobacter are especially useful in gauging the health and virility of the ground. Azotobacters are found worldwide, in climates ranging from extremely northern Siberia to Egypt and India.
From MicrobeWiki
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