Nitrogen-Fixing Question

[Companion Cube]

Would it be possible to have a genetically engineered creature with colonies of GM nitrogen-fixing and nitrifying bacteria living in its lungs? The idea of this would be that there would be an additional organ in the same area to mop up the resulting nitrates for use in assembling amino acids and nucleotides.

Would this be a viable (assuming the tech to actually engineer it) idea, or would it be better to just feed the creature conventionally? What are the main problems with this idea?

[Admiral Valdemar]

Feed it conventionally. There's a reason such things only exist in prokaryote form, it's typically inefficient to start acting as a macroscale nitrifying or nitrogen fixing organism like you suggest and far easier to access the nutrient from food sources since all particulate organic carbon sources inevitably have nitrogen. You could draw parallels with the microbes in the GI that help digest certain molecules, but it's not quite the same.

Besides, N2 is inert and the only reason certain bacterial cells are able to use atmospheric sources is down to lightning causing the molecules to combine with oxygen and form NO to be then used.

[Companion Cube]

Ok, understood. Thanks for the reply.