NitroBLAST
Laying the foundation for nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen
Nitrogen gas, comprising 78% of Earth's atmosphere, is the most abundant chemical in the air.
Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plants.
However, N₂ is highly inert, making it difficult for plants to convert it into useful compounds that they can consume.
The Haber-Bosch process
In nature, the amount of nitrogenous compounds for plant consumption is limited, requiring fertiliser.
The Haber-Bosch process revolutionized agriculture by industrializing nitrogen fixation, greatly boosting agricultural productivity and feeding a large portion of the global population.
However, each year 200 million tonnes of reactive nitrogen is lost to the environment.
Over-fertilization
The Netherlands grapples with a crippling nitrogen crisis with over 80% of ammonia emissions coming from over-fertilization.
Eutrophication
Excessive ammonia enrichment promotes uncontrolled algal blooms in water bodies causing eutrophication, which leads to loss of biodiversity.
We could reduce up to 2% of global CO2 emissions from synthetic fertilizer production.
We could reduce nitrogen emissions, prevent eutrophication, and protect biodiversity while sustaining agricultural productivity.
Laying the foundation for nitrogen fixation.
Braarudosphaera bigelowii
Earlier this year, a new organelle, the nitroplast was discovered in the marine alga Braarudosphaera bigelowii.
UCYN-A
This organelle was originally a bacterium named UCYN-A, and eventually became an organelle in B. bigelowii through endosymbiosis.
Nitrogen fixation
What makes it the first of its kind, is its ability to fixate atmospheric nitrogen!
Nitrogen-fixing eukaryotes
We aim to transplant nitroplasts from B. bigelowii into other cells to create nitrogen-fixing eukaryotes.