Solutions for a changing world: photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation

The IBVF booth will recreate a real laboratory and show a series of photosynthetic organisms (cyanobacteria and plants) capable of fixing nitrogen.

Cyanobacteria – the same group of organisms that changed our planet with oxygen photosynthesis – are largely responsible for another fundamental process for life: the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. Thus the carbon fixed by photosynthesis combines with nitrogen to form amino acids, the bricks of life.

Certain filamentous cyanobacteria are able to perform this process by themselves in differentiated cells called heterocysts, whereas a specific group of plants, the leguminous ones, is carried out by the establishment of symbiosis with specialized bacteria that form nodules in their roots.

In the IBVF stand, in addition, models will be exhibited on scale of reactors of culture of photosynthetic microorganisms with biotechnological uses. The study and use of these organisms can contribute to the challenges of achieving sustainable energy and food, especially in the face of the threat of climate change.

The visiting public will be able to interact with the laboratory equipment and carry out a simple experiment of extracting photosynthetic pigments from leaves.