The primary way that plants obtain nitrogen compounds is via the nitrogen cycle, which is a series of reactions involving several different types of bacteria, including nitrogen-fixing bacteria and denitrifying bacteria. During nitrogen fixation, symbiotic bacteria, which live in association with the roots of legumes, are able through a series of enzymatic reactions to make nitrogen available for plants. Nitrogen is crucial to all organisms because it is an integral element of proteins and nucleic acids. Although Earth’s atmosphere is 79 percent nitrogen, molecular nitrogen is very stable and does