Food security
Millions of people are undernourished globally and with the population growing, food security is a major concern. Food security is multifaceted, requiring advancements in food safety, ensuring products have a good shelf life, reducing spoilage and providing dietary additions to improve the nutrient intake of the population. The application of microbiology is far reaching, and new approaches are required to maintain food security. Through an improved understanding of plant-microbe interactions, it is possible to forecast and mitigate food shortages.
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The right heat makes biochar a better helper for food waste composting
A new study finds that hardwood biochar made at 400 °C best protects nitrogen during food waste digestate composting, offering a practical route to cleaner and higher-quality compost.
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NewsMagnetic biochar gel helps keep arsenic and antimony out of rice
A new study reports a promising strategy for mining-impacted regions: a magnetic silicon-enriched biochar gel that can immobilize both arsenic and antimony in contaminated paddy soil and reduce their accumulation in rice grains.
NewsHow Chinese cabbage fights downy mildew
Researchers focusing on the Brassica rapa–Hyaloperonospora parasitica pathosystem identifies DM459 as an Arg–x–Leu–Arg (RXLR) effector that interacts with BraATG8i, activates autophagy, stimulates salicylic acid (SA) signaling, and enhances resistance to downy mildew.
NewsBiochar could help make tea farming cleaner, safer, and more climate resilient
A new review examines how biochar, a carbon-rich material produced by heating biomass under limited oxygen, could become a practical tool for more sustainable tea cultivation. It focuses on five connected areas: soil properties, microbial communities, nutrient cycling, tea productivity and quality, and heavy metal detoxification.
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Starvation triggers reversible epigenetic changes in fish pathogen
What happens to a bacterial pathogen when food runs out—for several months? A new study reveals that Flavobacterium columnare, a deadly aquatic pathogen responsible for columnaris disease in fish, does not change its DNA sequence during prolonged starvation. Instead, it remodels its epigenetic landscape.
Long ReadsLosing the Earth’s bounty
Farmland degradation and soil erosion have caused food shortages and the collapse of civilizations throughout human history. Today, soil degradation is a growing driver of global threats such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity. Loss of soil, the resource that supports production of 95% of the food supply, ...
NewsResearch shows plants such as canola, tomatoes and rice reduce iron uptake when stressed by drought
New research has found that plants, ranging from canola to rice to tomatoes, actively shut down their own ability to take up iron when they experience drought. The study questions whether plants send out a ‘cry for help’ when they are stressed by drought to recruit beneficial soil microbes in their roots.
NewsRecent study reveals how bacteria capture a rare type of sugar molecule
Researchers have identified a novel transport protein that binds cyclic β-1,2-glucans, revealing unexpected diversity in bacterial sugar uptake mechanisms.
NewsResearchers transfer nitrogen-harvesting genes into new bacteria
New research has identified a key cluster of genes that can be moved from rhizobia bacteria that harvest nitrogen into bacteria that don’t — raising the possibility that microbes that dwell in cereal crops could eventually be engineered to atmospherically harvest nitrogen as well.
NewsBiochar and Bacillus team up to help greenhouse cherry tomatoes grow more fruit
A new study shows that pairing biochar with beneficial Bacillus bacteria can unlock soil phosphorus, improve root growth, and increase cherry tomato yield by 23.53% under greenhouse cultivation.
NewsPlants predictably select growth boosting microbes regardless of soil type
Soil obtained from across nine UK locations was used to cultivate six key arable crops. Researchers found that although the local soil environment selected which kinds of bacteria were present, the crop species determined the beneficial microbial functions of those bacteria.
NewsScientists develop an antifungal aqueous suspension to prevent fungal infections in crops and fruit
Researchers have developed an antifungal aqueous suspension for the prevention of fungal infections in crops and fruit during the pre- and post-harvest stages. The new formulation is aimed at the biotechnology and agricultural sectors.
NewsInternational leaders in probiotic and prebiotic science to gather in Tokyo for one-day symposium
To help strengthen global collaboration and showcase innovative biotics research, The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) is organizing a scientific symposium on October 6, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan in conjunction with its annual meeting.
NewsCall for input: UK government to overhaul fertiliser regulation
Applied Microbiology International is calling on members to contribute after the UK government proposed a major overhaul of fertiliser regulation through a new framework: the UK Fertilising Product Regulations (UK FPR).
NewsCheese bacteria could offer health benefits
Scientists identified the microbial and biochemical profiles of three artisan cheeses made locally in Oxfordshire across their maturation process, and found that the bacteria responsible for a cheese’s character could also benefit the people who eat it.
NewsStudents develop milk pathogen test kit and win TED Youth Startup Grant
Inspired by the widely used and user-friendly COVID-19 strip test kits, a team of science students has developed a test kit for detecting pathogens in milk and dairy products. They combined the LAMP technique with strip test technology to create a simple screening tool for harmful bacteria.
NewsSpraying leaves with carbon dots boosts rice yield and blocks toxic cadmium
In a full-season field test, a nanoscale spray activated a two-part defense system in rice, slashing grain cadmium content by nearly 50% while improving the harvest.
NewsResearchers discover the secret behind gray mold’s unstoppable spread
For years, scientists have unsuccessfully tried to breed crops that could resist Botrytis cinerea. New research suggests decades of crop breeding strategies may have overlooked a crucial piece of the puzzle: the pathogen itself. The problem may lie in a fundamental misunderstanding of how plants and the pathogen interact.
NewsResearch outlines strategy to protect Amazonian cocoa against witches’ broom
A new study evaluated 25 cocoa cultivars and identified two with superior performance. Both demonstrated a greater ability to maintain high productivity in mineral-poor soils and when attacked by the witches’ broom fungus. Production increased by up to 32% compared to more susceptible varieties.
NewsMolecular net boosts the power of natural biopesticides
Scientists have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that helps a widely used biological pesticide become more effective. The study reveals how bacteria produce ultra-strong protein fibers that form a molecular net, trapping infectious spores and toxins into a sticky film that enhances their ability to kill insect pests.
NewsCorn diseases cost farmers $13.8 billion from 2020 to 2023
Corn diseases cost farmers an estimated $13.8 billion USD from 2020 to 2023, according to a new multiyear analysis led by plant disease specialists from across the United States and Ontario, Canada.
NewsStudy reveals hidden diversity of algae in farmland
Researchers discovered unexpectedly strong seasonal variation in algae in the surface soils of farmland. Xanthophyceae were the most abundant when it was colder, at the time points in spring and autumn; whereas Cyanobacteria and green algae were prevalent shortly before crop harvest in summer.
NewsProtein engineering and testing condensed to a single day
Engineered proteins must be created in the real world and tested for performance - a labor-intensive process that involves constructing the DNA instructions for each protein in yeast or bacteria and growing individual clones for protein production and testing. Researchers say they have condensed the time-intensive protein building and testing process to just 24 hours.