Land has a wide variety of uses: agricultural, residential, industrial, and recreational. Microbes play a key role in the terrestrial ecosystem, providing symbiotic relationships with plants. Human use of land has led to the exhaustion of nutrients in soils, contamination of land, and a reduction in biodiversity. Applying our knowledge of microbes will be essential in restoring the biodiversity of affected ecosystems. Greater research into how microbes impact human life on land could all have a positive impact, by increasing crop production, repurposing areas of land and improving microbial biodiversity in soil, land, and water.
Scientists unveil the subtle alliances and rivalries that unfold between bacteria and roots, hidden beneath the soil. A new study probed how and when root exudates are released at the microscale relevant to microorganisms.
Read storyResearchers reported that they edited the gene TcNPR3 in cacao plants, ultimately resulting in disease-resistant cacao plants that had 42% smaller disease lesions when infected with phytophthora, compared to non-edited plants.
Scientists have unveiled a pioneering method that could help farmers reclaim lands blighted by toxic metals and boost the safety of crops grown in contaminated soils. Phosphorus-modified biochar can reduce the threat posed by heavy metals in agricultural soils near mining areas.
New laboratory experiments show that a bacterium that lives on grape plants can break down guaiacol—an unpleasant-tasting substance which ruins wines made from grapes exposed to wildfire smoke.
Scientists have succeeded in getting bacteria to break down the molecular building blocks of polystyrene and convert them into useful chemicals.
A new study using DNA sequencing of lakebed microbes reveals that nutrient pollution from agricultural runoff and climate change amplify each other in ways that profoundly affect the health of lake ecosystems.
In a new study, scientists show that chemical receptors that plants use to recognize nitrogen-fixing bacteria have developed the same function independently on at least three separate occasions through a process called convergent evolution.
New research indicates the diversification of fungi hundreds of millions of years before the emergence of land plants. It suggests a common ancestor of living fungi dating to roughly 1.4–0.9 billion years ago.
Global distributor Caldic and Belgian biotech innovator AmphiStar have announced an exclusive partnership to distribute and promote AmphiStar’s 100% upcycled microbial biosurfactants for personal care applications across Europe.
A common soil fungus could help farmers reduce their reliance on synthetic fungicides by producing natural airborne chemicals that suppress plant diseases. Trichoderma hamatum releases volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that inhibit the growth of crop pathogens.
A new study finds that pairing biochar with biogas slurry, a nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer from biogas production, can reshape soil microbial communities and significantly alter emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and methane (CH₄).
A new study gives new clues on how a tomato plant’s microbiome can be used to combat the bacterial speck pathogen. Researchers found populations of Xanthomonas and Pseudomonas bacteria on the plants that had developed a resistance against bacterial speck.
Pollen gathered by honeybees contains antimicrobial-producing bacteria that protect the hive against disease, a new study reveals. The same beneficial bacteria occur in pollen stores of honeybee colonies and on pollen of nearby plants.
BugBiome, the agri-tech innovator developing new bioinsecticides from crop-associated microbes, has relocated to Norwich Research Park as it focuses on moving its lead aphicide into field trials in 2026.
An analysis of commercial raw cat foods detected disease-causing microbes, including some that are resistant to antibiotics, creating risks for both pets and their owners, according to a new study.
Researchers have found antibiotic-resistant bacterial clones in wild birds at a rehabilitation center. The identified Escherichia coli clones have been found in community- and hospital-acquired human infections worldwide, and were present in the intestinal tracts of a vulture and an owl.
A study shows that both the composition and fermentative ability of the Japanese macaque gut microbiome shift flexibly across seasons, while the latter in particular increased during the harsh winter when macaques relied on leaves.
Researchers have created a novel single-atom copper pesticide that addresses the critical limitations of traditional copper-based pesticides, acting against the rice pathogen Pantoea ananatis.
A new study provides the most comprehensive genomic catalogue to date of mammalian gut microbiomes from the Tibetan Plateau.
A new study employed the symplastic movement tracer carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA) to observe and model the transport and storage status of nutrients within nodules.
A new study proposes a deep learning algorithm that can automatically measure the diseased spikelet rate (DSR) trait from wheat spike images with complex backgrounds captured by mobile phones, providing a measurement tool for wheat Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) resistance breeding.
When harmful fungi invade their carefully cultivated crops, some fungus-farming termites fight back with the precision of skilled gardeners, a new study reveals, smothering them in soil clumps enriched with microbial allies that inhibit fungal growth.
Researchers who collected monthly samples from subway stations in Beijing found high fungal diversity, mostly non-pathogenic. Some opportunistic pathogens were also detected. Fungal communities varied significantly by season and station types.