Abstract
Azolla is the only plant with a coevolving nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial symbiont (cyanobiont), Nostoc azollae, resulting from whole-genome duplication (WGD) 80 million years ago in Azolla’s immediate ancestor, Parazolla. Additional genes from the WGD resulted in complex biochemical and morphological changes that enabled transmission of the cyanobiont to successive generations of the plant via its spores. The permanent symbiosis resulted in loss, downregulation, or conversion of nonessential genes to pseudogenes in the cyanobiont, changing it from a free-living organism to an obligate symbiont that is dependent on its host for survival. Upregulation of other genes in the cyanobiont increased its atmospheric nitrogen fixation and provision of nitrogen-based products to the plant. As a result, Azolla can double its biomass in less than 2 days free-floating on freshwater and sequester large amounts of atmospheric CO2, giving it the potential to mitigate anthropogenic climate change through carbon capture and storage (CCS). Azolla’s biomass can also provide local, low-cost biofertilizer, feed, biofuel, and a range of products that are urgently needed as our population increases by a billion every 12 years. This chapter focuses on its use as a biofertilizer and feed for animals, poultry, waterfowl, freshwater fish, and crustacea.
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Bujak, A., Bujak, J. (2022). Azolla’s Use as a Biofertilizer and Livestock Feed. In: Marimuthu, J., Fernández, H., Kumar, A., Thangaiah, S. (eds) Ferns. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6170-9_29
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