Simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for estimating the nitrogen-fixing capacity of bacterial cultures

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is a process through which a group of microorganisms called diazotrophs convert unassimilable atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. In aqueous media, ammonia yields ammonium ions that can be assimilated by microorganisms and plants. To reduce the application of nitrogen fertilizers and their environmental effects, an alternative approach toward sustainable agriculture is the induction of artificial associations between diazotrophs and plants. This has led to increased interest in the search for microorganisms capable of supplying nitrogen to crops. This article presents a simple, economical, and sensitive spectrophotometric method for estimating the BNF capacity of bacteria cultured in a liquid NFb medium, based on the variation of absorbance caused by the change in color of bromothymol blue in the culture medium. The structure and color of this indicator are modified by pH shifts, which depend on the concentration of fixed ammonium ions. • The nitrogen concentration (estimated from the ammonium in the culture medium) showed a positive correlation (R² = 0.984) with the absorbance measured at 610 nm. The regression equation obtained through the origin was y = 0.009682140x, where y is the absorbance and x is the nitrogen concentration in the culture medium. • The methods used at present to measure the efficiency of BNF require expensive equipment, which may not be affordable for many laboratories or companies working in this field. • This technique can be used for pure bacterial strains and microbial consortia from soil or commercial products.