Incorporation of 15N into various nitrogenous compounds in intact soybean nodules after exposure to 15N2 gas

The intact nodules attached to the upper part of soybean roots were exposed to ¹⁵N₂ and the incorporation of ¹⁵N into various soluble nitrogen constituents was investigated. Results indicated that ammonia, a primary product of N₂ fixation, was located in more than two compartments. Ammonia reduced from N₂ gas seemed to be incorporated firstly into glutamine especially amido-group nitrogen. Newly fixed nitrogen was secondly incorporated into glutamic acid and alanine in this sequence. These results suggested that fixed ammonia was assimilated by glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase pathway. Turn-over rate of allantoin plus allantoic acid and serine was relatively high, although apparently these compounds were not primary products of newly fixed ammonia. ¹⁵N content of allantoin was always higher than that of allantoic acid. ¹⁵N incorporation to aspartic acid and asparagine was relatively slow, especially in early period. In bacteroid fraction there is much amount of ammonia comparing with other compounds, while allantoin and asparagine were presented exclusively in cytosol. ¹⁵N was incorporated into nitrate within a few minutes especially in bacteroids.