Healthy land
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.
News
Bee hives found to be ‘living immune systems’ that protect bees
Researchers have discovered honey beehives act as ‘living immune systems’ that help protect the bee colony, their offspring, and food supplies from disease. In a remarkable example of insect engineering each part of the hive is ‘built in’ strategically across different compartments of the hive.
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NewsHow plants unwittingly help fungal pathogens
Infecting a maize plant is no simple task for a fungal pathogen such as Ustilago maydis. A group of researchers has now uncovered how the fungus detects that it has successfully entered its host. This signal triggers changes in fungal growth.
NewsCould plywood provide a better home for oil-degrading microbes?
The material used to support microbial biofilms could influence their potential role in treating water generated during oil production. Researchers examined whether different supporting materials affect the formation, abundance, and composition of biofilms inside a 14-hectare constructed wetland treating oil-produced water.
NewsVirus-based tool opens a faster route to studying cowpea genes
Genome sequencing of cowpea has provided researchers with numerous candidate genes, and genetic transformation has enabled studies of traits such as drought and heat tolerance. A new study reports sustained gene silencing across seven cowpea varieties and demonstrates the system’s utility for investigating jasmonate regulation during leafminer infestation.
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News
Textile and food waste co-digestion boosts methane yields
Anaerobic co-digestion of textile waste with food waste (FW) could turn two stubborn waste streams into renewable methane while reducing landfilling and incineration. A study examined mono- and co-digestion of cotton, polycotton, and wool with FW under mesophilic conditions, testing substrate-to-inoculum (S/I) ratios of 0.5 and 1 and multiple feedstock mixing ratios.
NewsNew platform reveals broad viral exposure histories in pigs
Pigs can retain antibody traces of past viral encounters, yet conventional tests usually examine only a limited number of viruses at a time. Researchers have developed a platform that uses 36,416 short protein fragments from 140 swine-associated viruses to screen many antibody responses in parallel.
NewsManganese-enhanced biochar helps soil retain nitrogen while reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Adding manganese to biochar can help soil retain more nitrogen by strengthening a natural microbial process. Scientists demonstrated that manganese-loaded biochar increased a key nitrogen-conserving microbial process by 2.9 times compared with untreated soil, while substantially reducing emissions of nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas.
NewsTwo paths to healthier soils: Scientists reveal how straw and biochar store carbon differently
Researchers discovered that combining manure with straw or biochar significantly increased soil organic carbon, but through two distinct pathways. Straw primarily stimulated microbial activity and carbon transformation, while biochar improved soil structure and the physical protection of carbon.
NewsTurning agricultural waste into soil-building substances: Manganese-modified biochar gives fungi a powerful boost
A new study reveals how manganese-modified biochar helps beneficial fungi break down agricultural residues and accelerate the formation of valuable humic substances, offering a promising approach to sustainable organic waste recycling and soil improvement.
NewsBacteria bond grains of sand into architectural elements
Cement manufacturing is one of the largest sources of CO2 emissions in the construction industry. One scientist is researching an alternative that works in a totally different way: instead of firing rocks at over 1,000°C, she is getting bacteria to bond grains of sand together into solid architectural elements.
NewsAspens ‘remember’ past drought in their leaves
Drought may leave more than narrow rings inside a tree trunk. New research suggests quaking aspen can retain a chemical ‘memory’ of dry years, changing the defensive compounds in their leaves and reshaping the fungal communities that live on them long after soils have rewetted.
NewsMicroalgae show promise as sustainable fertiliser for malting barley
New research has demonstrated that microalgae could provide a sustainable alternative to conventional mineral fertilisers for malting barley production. The study explored whether microalgae could help reduce the agricultural sector’s reliance on synthetic mineral fertilisers while maintaining crop performance and grain quality.
NewsScientists discover ‘D-rex’, a giant fungus from Chinese forests whose unique lineage dates back 65 million years
Deep in the forests of Yunnan, China, scientists have discovered a ‘fungal giant’ that challenges our understanding of how large fungi can become. The newly described species, Dianjunus rex, produces vertical fruiting bodies up to 50 cm high and weighing up to 2.2 kg – the largest known within the phylum Ascomycota.
NewsElephants continue to shape the savanna even after death
Researchers who studied the sites of elephant carcasses in South Africa’s Kruger National Park discovered that decomposition creates nutrient hotspots that can persist on the landscape for years, possibly decades. This flush of nutrients fuels microbial activity and plant vigor, which attracts herbivores to the site long after the visual signs of the elephant have disappeared.
NewsPerpetual Next signs agreement to accelerate the roll-out of standardized biomethanol plants
Perpetual Next have signed a License and Engineering Agreement with Air Liquide Engineering and Technologies for the supply of syngas-to-methanol technology for Perpetual Next’s first biomethanol facility, with an option to extend across other biomethanol sites.
NewsMultitarget compound strengthens tomato defenses against TYLCV with layered response
Scientists testing compounds against tomato yellow leaf curl virus found that one antiviral appears to protect tomato plants by coordinating several defensive routes rather than depending on one narrow antiviral action. It strengthens resistance-associated gene activity while also engaging host proteins that may support viral infection.
NewsResearchers uncover blueprint for more sustainable agriculture
Researchers have revealed an entirely unexpected blueprint for how one of the oldest microbes on Earth processes nitrogen to create ammonia, the building block of fertilizer. They uncovered a previously unknown structure in a key enzyme responsible for biological nitrogen fixation.
NewsFungi that colonise human faeces: first scientific study lays the groundwork for myco-sanitation
Filamentous fungi can colonise fresh human faeces, and the choice of fungal species shapes how the material changes, according to a new study. Depending on the species, the fungi accelerated degradation, reduced faecal indicator bacteria, suppressed faecal odour or changed the appearance of the material.
NewsBeetles build with a yellow pigment gene
More than 80 years ago scientists discovered that differences in yellow pigmentation were critical to courtship success and failure for fruit flies. New research has added a deeper perspective to the study of Yellow, showing how in tortoise beetles this protein has been co-opted as a building material to house symbiotic bacteria.
NewsPenguin poo is melting Antarctic snow by keeping algae green
Penguin poo is fertilizing snow algae blooms along the Antarctic Peninsula, feeding dense green algae patches along the coastline, a new study shows. These expanding stretches of green snow melt faster than clean, white snow, potentially speeding up the spread of snow- and ice- free areas of Antarctica.
NewsWine-like terroir: Influence of wild plants results in distinctive microbial and flavour signatures in Munkoyo
Wild plants traditionally used as natural starter cultures for fermentation of Munkoyo, a traditional non/very low-alcoholic fermented cereal beverage consumed in parts of Africa, can influence not only the initiation of fermentation but also the microbial communities and flavour characteristics of the final beverage.
NewsPetal ‘windows’ affect the abundance of microbes within flowers
Some flowers have petals with small semi-translucent sections. Research reveals that these “windows” alter the amount of light and heat entering the flower and create conditions that influence microbial abundance.
NewsNew microscopy investment will help unlock solutions to costly crop diseases
The James Hutton Institute has secured £640,000 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) ALERT 2025 programme to install a new confocal microscope that will enable scientists to undertake a range of studies at the cellular level, while also opening up new scientific possibilities through enhanced imaging capabilities.