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what is rhizobium bacteria
Rhizobia are legume root-nodule bacteria.  They are soil bacteria that induce the formation of special structures (nodules) on the roots of their host plants.  Inside these nodules, the rhizobia fix nitrogen. They convert dinitrogen (the nitrogen gas that makes up 80% of the air you breathe) into ammonia.  Ammonia is toxic, so it is rapidly assimilated into organic compounds, most of which the bacteria pass to the plant to fulfil its nutritional need for nitrogen.  Nitrogen fixation is an energy-intensive process, and the bacteria take carbon compounds from the plant to fuel it.  It is a symbiosis, because the bacteria live in intimate association with the plant, and a mutualism, because both partners gain.


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