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.
News
New 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.
Read story
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.
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.
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.
More food security
News
Plants 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.
NewsIndustrial poultry farming is accelerating the spread of a major foodborne disease
A new study reveals that industrial poultry farming has led to more than 100-fold increase in the movement of Campylobacter, allowing strains that once circulated in wild birds to mix extensively in commercial poultry populations.
NewsAnaerobic dry processing unlocks flavor precursors in Arabica coffee beans
A research team has mapped how four post-harvest processing methods reshape flavor precursors in Arabica coffee beans, showing that anaerobic fermentation substantially increases key non-volatile metabolites linked to aroma, flavor, acidity, body, and balance.
NewsRecycling food waste would bring huge benefits, but microplastics a challenge
A first nationwide look shows diversion of U.S. food waste from landfills could reduce related climate impacts by 89% and nutrient pollution by 50%, researchers say.
NewsPrebiotic sodas typically contain as much sugar as fiber
Prebiotic sodas have become more popular in recent years. According to a new analysis, however, many of these beverages contain relatively little prebiotic fiber content and more sugar than marketing claims might imply.
CareersMember Q&A: Tanja’s pathway to policy-oriented papers
Head of Bioresources Unit of the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology Tanja Kostić, PhD, reveals how AMI membership has supported her professional development and career journey.
NewsResearchers find estrogen-like mycotoxin in every pregnant woman tested
Consuming common foods such as corn chips and popcorn may put pregnant women at risk of being exposed to mycotoxins. A study found hormone-mimicking mycotoxins in 100% of participants.
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.
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.
NewsObituary: Professor Arthur Gilmour (1947-2026)
The applied microbiology community has lost one of its most distinguished leaders with the passing of Arthur Gilmour, who served as President of the Society for Applied Microbiology from 1999 to 2002.
NewsResearchers launch global initiative to study disappearing heritage diets
The world’s ‘heritage’ diets could hold vital clues to better health. Researchers from 12 countries have launched the World Diet Initiative, a global effort to document and study these diets before this knowledge is lost.
NewsThe family tree of viruses just grew – and it paves the way for a new approach to agricultural research
Researchers have discovered that a group of viruses known to infect an agriculturally important plant pathogen has remained genetically stable for an astonishing four decades. The work also led to the classification and naming of the group of phages.
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.
NewsFood waste treatment can boost renewable energy, but a hidden brown byproduct may be holding it back
Researchers have identified a key chemical obstacle in turning food waste into renewable methane, offering a new semi-quantitative way to track melanoidins and showing that higher doses can severely damage the microbial system.
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.
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.
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.
NewsWasted pumpkin peel can keep your food fresh
Researchers have turned agricultural by-products into a biodegradable food packaging material, offering a potential approach to both food loss and plastic pollution.
NewsThe broader a fungus’s diet, the better it kills insects and helps plants
Entomologists have discovered that a single underlying trait—metabolic breadth, or the range of nutrients a fungus can use—links its ability to kill insects, partner with plants and thrive in different ecological roles.