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🔬 Biology  ·  Mineral Nutrition  ·  NEET

Which bacterium lives in root nodules of legumes and fixes nitrogen?

Answer: Rhizobium.

  • A Nitrosomonas
  • B Rhizobium
  • C Azotobacter
  • D Nitrobacter

Correct answer: B. Rhizobium

Explanation: Rhizobium is a symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacterium that lives in root nodules of legumes (pea, bean, soybean). It has a mutualistic relationship with the plant - it gets sugar, plant gets fixed nitrogen.

Nitrogen Cycle: Key ConversionsN₂ (air)N-fixation(Rhizobium, nitrogenase)NH₃/NH₄⁺nitrificationNO₃⁻denitrificationback to N₂leghaemoglobin protectsnitrogenase from O₂

Atmospheric N₂ is fixed into ammonia by nitrogen-fixing bacteria (protected from oxygen by leghaemoglobin in root nodules), converted to nitrate via nitrification for plant uptake, and eventually returned to the atmosphere as N₂ via denitrification, completing the cycle.

Concept context

Essential mineral elements, their roles and deficiency symptoms. Nitrogen fixation and soil nutrition.

Read the full Mineral Nutrition notes →