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This marine alga is the first known eukaryote to pull nitrogen from air

Until now, the only “nitrogen-fixing” organisms were thought to be prokaryotes such as bacteria

nitrogen-fixing organelle in alga

The unicellular algae Braarudospharea bigelowii (shown here in a 1000x magnification) is the first eukaryote known to fix nitrogen, thanks to its nitroplast organelle (arrow).

Tyler Coale

By Jake Buehler

It’s time to welcome a new type of cell to the club of living things that can harvest nitrogen from the atmosphere.