Research subject Nitrogen fixation

Some organisms, such as Rhodospirillum rubrum, a bacterium that has been well studied at the department for biochemistry and biophysics, has the catability of binding nitrogen from the air for use within the cell. The products of this nitrogen metabolism then becomes available to certain plants that cohabitate the soil where these bacteria thrive.

At the department, this process is studied using basic biochistry assays as well as molecular biology and proteomics.