Which process allows animals to obtain the nitrogen necessary for building proteins in their bodies?
Consuming plant or animal matter containing nitrogen compounds
Nitrogen is an essential element of amino acids, proteins and nucleic acids. Although about 78% of air is nitrogen gas, most living organisms cannot use it directly because the N2 molecule is very stable.
Atmospheric nitrogen is fixed into usable compounds such as ammonia and nitrates by nitrogen-fixing bacteria (for example Rhizobium in root nodules) and by lightning. Plants absorb these nitrates and ammonium salts from the soil and make their own proteins.
Animals obtain nitrogen by eating plants, or by eating other animals that ate plants. The proteins in this food are digested into amino acids, which the animal uses to build its own proteins.
Animal cells cannot convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, as they lack the enzyme nitrogenase, and nitrogen gas breathed in is breathed out unchanged. Water (H2O) contains no nitrogen, so it cannot supply nitrogen for proteins.
Hence, Consuming plant or animal matter containing nitrogen compounds.
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