nitrogenase

noun

ni·​tro·​ge·​nase nī-ˈträ-jə-ˌnās  ˈnī-trə-jə- 

-ˌnāz

: an enzyme of various nitrogen-fixing bacteria that catalyzes the reduction of molecular nitrogen to ammonia

Examples of nitrogenase in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This suggests that the enzyme nitrogenase, crucial for nitrogen fixation, was destroyed by oxygen. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025

But researchers couldn’t pin down the organisms that harbored these alien nitrogenases. —Quanta Magazine, 17 July 2024

This nitrogenase uses only iron, without molybdenum or vanadium. —Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024

In an alternative approach, soil bacteria that naturally colonize the roots of cereals but cannot fix nitrogen are taught to produce nitrogenase, the key enzyme that converts nitrogen from the air into plant-compatible ammonia. —Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2021

Leghemoglobin, which has a high affinity for oxygen, is able to buffer the concentration of free oxygen in the cytoplasm of the infected plant cells to ensure proper function of the oxygen-sensitive nitrogenase, the enzyme responsible for fixing atmospheric nitrogen. —Ashton Yoon, Discover Magazine, 26 Sep. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nitrogenase

• aromatase
• hydrogenase
• oligoclase
• oxygenase
• plagioclase
• polymerase
• streptokinase
• triphosphatase
• abase
• airspace
• apace
• backspace

Medical Definition

nitrogenase

noun

ni·​tro·​ge·​nase nī-ˈträj-ə-ˌnās  ˈnī-trə-jə- 

-ˌnāz

: an iron- and molybdenum-containing enzyme of various nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (as some bacteria) that catalyzes the reduction of molecular nitrogen to ammonia