Use the Following Information to Answer the Questions Below

question 24

Multiple Choice

Use the following information to answer the questions below.
Nitrogenase, the enzyme that catalyzes nitrogen fixation, is inhibited whenever free O₂ reaches a critical concentration. Consequently, nitrogen fixation cannot occur in cells wherein photosynthesis produces free O₂. Consider the colonial aquatic cyanobacterium, Anabaena, whose heterocytes are described as having "…a thickened cell wall that restricts entry of O₂ produced by neighbouring cells. Intracellular connections allow heterocysts to transport fixed nitrogen to neighbouring cells in exchange for carbohydrates."
-Which two questions below arise from a careful reading of this quotation, and are most important for understanding how N₂ enters heterocysts, and how O₂ is kept out of heterocysts? 1. If carbohydrates can enter the heterocysts from neighbouring cells via the "intracellular connections," how is it that O₂ doesn't also enter via this route?
2. If the cell walls of Anabaena's photosynthetic cells are permeable to O₂ and CO₂, are they also permeable to N₂?
3. If the nuclei of the photosynthetic cells contain the genes that code for nitrogen fixation, how can these cells fail to perform nitrogen fixation?
4. If the nuclei of the heterocysts contain the genes that code for photosynthesis, how can these cells fail to perform photosynthesis?
5. If the cell walls of Anabaena's heterocysts are permeable to N₂, how is it that N₂ doesn't diffuse out of the heterocysts before it can be fixed?
6. If the thick cell walls of the heterocysts exclude entry of oxygen gas, how is it that they don't also exclude the entry of nitrogen gas?

• A)1 and 3
• B)1 and 6
• C)2 and 5
• D)3 and 4
• E)4 and 6

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