All Soil & Plant Science articles – Page 2
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NewsGenomic upheaval: How grapevine downy mildew builds its weaponry through structural chaos
Researchers have assembled two complete, chromosome-level genomes of Plasmopara viticola from distinct grapevine hosts, revealing that nearly 90% of the pathogen’s effector genes exist as locally duplicated gene clusters.
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NewsNew framework to reveal how microbial modulators can work alongside agricultural practices to boost plant performance
Scientists have proposed a new framework for understanding how microbes, soil fauna, viruses and compounds in the soil can be used alongside agricultural practices to reshape the native plant microbiome and boost plant performance.
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NewsTrees and microbes team up to improve nitrogen nutrient processes in future CO2 conditions
Researchers studying how a 180-year-old oak woodland responded after exposure to the CO₂ levels expected in the future discover that microbes “mine” soil nutrients, supplying 30% more available nitrogen to help trees sustain carbon capture.
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NewsEngineered microbial communities offer a faster route to removing herbicide residues from soil
A new review highlights how carefully designed teams of microorganisms could offer a more effective way to break down herbicide contaminants than relying on individual microbial strains.
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NewsPm72, a new powdery mildew resistance gene identified from wild einkorn wheat
Researchers have identified a new powdery mildew resistance gene, Pm72, from wild einkorn wheat that will be a useful gene resource for wheat breeding.
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NewsMicroscopic atlas reveals how citrus Huanglongbing disease progresses through trees
Scientists have created a detailed microscopic atlas that provides one of the clearest pictures to date of how citrus huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease, develops over time and affects different parts of a tree.
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NewsPlants can tell beneficial bacteria apart — and dose matters
A study reports that melon plants perceive and respond differently to two phylogenetically similar Bacillus strains. Bacillus subtilis NCIB3610 and B. velezensis FZB42 — despite colonizing roots with similar efficiency — trigger fundamentally different host programs.
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CareersQ&A: Meet Letters in Applied Microbiology Junior Reviewer Rabiath Féichokpè Raïssa Adigoun
We caught up with Dr. Rabiath Féichokpè Raïssa Adigoun, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin who is one of the newest Junior Reviewers with Letters in Applied Microbiology.
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NewsScientists gather lessons from the wild
The wild plants tucked into yards, sidewalk cracks, ditches and fields offer a treasure trove of biological data. Studying wild plants allows for insights into possible adaptations to disease that no human-designed systems could provide.
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NewsBugBiome secures £500,000 grant to develop new bioinsecticide working with expert researchers
BugBiome has secured a £500,000 grant from Innovate UK to fund a collaborative project to develop a new biological insecticide to control cabbage stem flea beetles (CSFB) in oilseed rape.
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NewsNew class of fungi named after the King of Sweden
Researchers have discovered a completely new fungal species, which they chose to name after the King of Sweden. It is the first known representative of a new class of fungi that will be called Semicentenialomycetes.
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NewsAntibiotic resistant gene found in Australian soil
A new study reveals a hidden source of antibiotic resistance. The novel gene found in contaminated freshwater NSW sediment provides bacteria with resistance to polymyxin - a critical last line antibiotic, used when others stop working.
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NewsSix years of drought reshape soil microbiomes in tallgrass prairie, study finds
A new study tracking soil microbial communities across six years of experimental drought in a tallgrass prairie finds that prolonged water stress diminishes biodiversity, pushing communities toward less predictable, harder-to-reverse configurations.
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FeaturesSoil microbes and the hidden network connecting plants, animals, and humans
Coevolution has shaped Earth’s ecosystems for over a billion years. However, climate change and unprecedented anthropogenic activities have placed immense pressure on the soil ecosystem over the past few decades.
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NewsBiochar ‘switches on’ natural oxygen chemistry to suppress soil-borne pathogens and reshape healthier microbial communities
A new study reveals how specially prepared biochar can directly suppress a destructive soil-borne pathogen while helping rebuild a richer and more stable soil bacterial community.
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NewsBiochar and smarter water management could help make rice safer in polluted soils
A new study suggests that pairing iron and manganese modified biochar with carefully chosen irrigation strategies can reduce cadmium and mercury buildup in rice, offering a practical path toward safer food production in co-contaminated paddy fields.
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NewsUnder the Lens: Plant microbiomes could cut agriculture’s dependence on chemicals, says Davide Bulgarelli
Understanding the hidden microbial communities that surround plant roots could pave the way for more sustainable farming, according to award-winning plant microbiologist Dr Davide Bulgarelli in conversation with Professor Emmanuel Adukwu.
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NewsGentian receives carbon through mycorrhizal fungi in addition to photosynthesis
Researchers have found that Gentiana squarrosa Ledeb. is partially mycoheterotrophic. The plant not only produces carbon through photosynthesis but also receives carbon through underground fungal networks.
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NewsPlant DNA harbours virus ‘fossils’ that reflect 300 million years of evolution
New research shows that Caulimoviridae viruses have infected an extremely wide range of vascular plant hosts, from lycophytes to flowering plants, revealing the existence of 35 previously undescribed taxonomic clusters in Caulimoviridae.
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NewsNovel plasmid confers phosphorylation-driven streptomycin resistance in plant pathogen
The genetic basis underlying the unusually high-level streptomycin resistance observed in the field-derived strain TX-0702 of Clavibacter michiganensis has remined unknown until a new study identified a previously uncharacterized plasmid.