Nitrogen exists in soils in many forms and constantly changes from one form to another. The paths that the different forms of nitrogen follow through the ecosystem are collectively called the nitrogen cycle (Figure 1). Understanding how the different pools of nitrogen interact and the processes by which these forms enter and leave the cycle is the subject of continuing study. Nitrogen is found ...

Light and temperature are two particularly important environmental cues for plant survival. Carbon and nitrogen are two essential macronutrients required for plant growth and development, and cellular carbon and nitrogen metabolism must be tightly coordinated. In order to understand how the natural light/dark cycle regulates carbon and nitrogen metabolism in rice plants, we analyzed the photosy...

The nitrogen cycle (N-cycle) in the biosphere, mainly driven by prokaryotes, involves different reductive or oxidative reactions used either for assimilatory purposes or in respiratory processes for energy conservation. As the N-cycle has important agricultural and environmental implications, bacterial nitrogen metabolism has become a major research topic in recent years. Archaea are able to pe...

Termites play a key role in the global carbon cycle as decomposers. Their ability to thrive solely on dead plant matter is chiefly attributable to the activities of gut microbes, which comprise protists, bacteria, and archaea. Although the majority of the gut microbes are as yet unculturable, molecular analyses have gradually been revealing their diversity and symbiotic mechanisms. Culture-inde...