Azospirillum brasilense

Click here to see a larger image (JPEG) of this microbe. Scientific Name: Azospirillum brasilense Kingdom: Eubacterium Image Courtesy of: Krieg and Doebereiner, Bergey's Trust Image Width: 7 microns Image Technology: TEM

This bacterium lives in soil. It is able to live on its own in soil, or in close associations with plants in the rhizosphere (the area right next to the roots of plants in soil). A. brasilense is helpful to plants and important to farmers because it is able to fix nitrogen - it can convert nitrogen gas in the air into nitrogen bound up in amino acids and proteins.