All Soil & Plant Science articles – Page 3
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NewsNo-tillage and microbial fertilizer work together to build carbon in nutrient-poor albic soils
A field study in northeastern China shows that combining reduced soil disturbance with microbial organic fertilizer can increase soil organic carbon across both surface and deeper soil layers.
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NewsResearchers visualise underground fungal networks in 3D
Researchers have visualized the complex network of plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi in soil in three dimensions for the first time.
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NewsWarming boosts bacterial denitrification, suppresses fungal pathways in paddy soils
A new study could change climate prediction models by enabling region-specific, microbe-targeted strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural ecosystems.
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NewsSoil properties determine how farmland microbes release nitrous oxide
A study of agricultural soils reports that physicochemical constraints and microbial functional differences jointly regulate denitrification, causing carbon and nitrogen inputs to alter N₂O and N₂ production differently among soil types.
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NewsHidden genome variation steers growth in fungus-dependent orchid
A chromosome-level genome and population survey of the fungus-dependent orchid Gastrodia elata has revealed how hidden genetic differences may shape growth, tuber form, and carbohydrate allocation.
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NewsWarming reshapes how nitrogen is stored and lost in flooded rice soils
A three-year field experiment shows that higher temperatures accelerate nitrogen cycling while promoting retention in protected soil pools.
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NewsSilencing a fungal wall protein cuts powdery mildew on melon leaves
Powdery mildew fungi survive on living plants behind a cell wall that provides both structural support and a shield against host immunity. Researchers have now identified the fungal cell wall assembly protein ECM33 as a weak point in that defense.
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NewsOxygen nanobubbles turn biochar into an active defense against cadmium in flooded rice soils
A newly engineered biochar maintained oxygen around rice roots, shifted cadmium into more stable soil forms, and substantially reduced cadmium accumulation in rice plants.
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NewsCould understanding leaf surfaces lead to new ways to prevent crop disease?
Researchers have adopted a biointerfaces approach to the problem of fungicide resistance in plant diseases. Rather than treating fungal diseases with nontargeted fungicide application, they suggest looking at the location where plant-fungi interactions begin: the leaf’s surface.
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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.