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.
Careers
Meet the Global Ambassadors: Our Q&A with Ashley Shade
The Microbiologist chats with our new Global Ambassador for France, Ashley Shade, who is Director of Research with Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) at the Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1.
NewsGenetic tracing at the Huanan Seafood market supports COVID animal origins
A study provides a list of the wildlife species present at the market from which SARS-CoV-2 most likely arose in late 2019, based on a new analysis of metatranscriptomic data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
NewsScientist devises test feed for fungal ‘micro-machine’ that breaks down wood
Researchers investigating a molecular machine found in fungi that decomposes wood into its basic components have come up with a test feed that allows them to observe its close-to-natural action, opening the door to putting it to industrial application.
News‘Food theft’ among seabirds could be transmission point for deadly avian flu
The deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus, which has killed millions of birds worldwide since 2021 – and in rare cases can be transmitted to humans – may be spread through the food-stealing behaviour of some seabirds.
More Healthy Land
News
Researchers take power and efficiency of biological sensing to record level
Scientists have developed a new biological sensing method that can detect substances at the zeptomolar level – an astonishingly miniscule amount.
NewsCofitness network connectivity determines a fuzzy essential zone in open bacterial pangenome
Based on a robust Tn-seq analysis of independent mariner transposon insertion libraries of Sinorhizobium strains, scientists have identified a strain-dependent variation in the fitness network of the Sinorhizobium pangenome under a nutrient-rich condition.
NewsPlant prebiotics offer new ally in the fight against pathogens
Disruptions to the community of microbes that live inside the leaves of a spindly plant called <i>Arabidopsis</i> can compromise a plant’s ability to tell harmless invaders from harmful ones – effectively turning the plant’s defensive arsenal against itself.
NewsRamie rhizosphere study unveils secrets of the volcano
Volcanic soil plays a key role in the formation of microbial community diversity and subsequently influences the diversity of microorganisms residing in the rhizosphere of Boehmeria nivea L.
NewsSoil pH is driver of microbial community composition - and need to address toxicity shapes the community
Researchers have determined through both statistical analysis and in experiments that soil pH is a driver of microbial community composition – but the need to address toxicity released during nitrogen cycling ultimately shapes the final microbial community.
NewsCatalogue of fungi in China reveals new taxa of macrofungi from southern Xizang
During a field trip in July 2023 in the Himalayas, 882 specimens in six counties from the border area of Xizang, China were collected, among which 15 new macrofungal species were revealed and are described in the study.
NewsReport recommends ‘highly ambitious enterprise’ to create world-leading UK Microbiome Biobank
A new report calls for a ’highly ambitious enterprise’ to create a microbiome biobank that will contribute significantly to the advancement of science and its application to human health.
NewsScientists to explore role soil microbes play in helping hemlocks survive woolly adelgid
Scientists are investigating why some stands of Eastern hemlock are able to resist a non-native, hemlock-loving invasive species known as the hemlock woolly adelgid which is wiping out the trees throughout the East Coast of the U.S.
NewsFungal foe fended off: DNA demethylation boosts tomato resistance
A recent study discovered that applying 5-Azacytidine, a DNA methylation inhibitor, significantly reduces tomato susceptibility to gray mold, a common postharvest fungal disease.
NewsWhat’s really ‘fueling’ harmful algae in Florida’s lake Okeechobee?
Lake Okeechobee is the largest lake in Florida and the second largest in the Southeastern United States. Over the past two decades, blooms of blue-green algae (Microcystis) have emerged in the lake and have been flushed into nearby urban estuaries, causing serious environmental and public health issues.
NewsAttenuated viruses could be used to enhance crop performance
Researchers propose using viruses as vehicles for crop improvement, an approach established in human therapies but little explored in agriculture.
NewsStudy reveals how pathogen breaches plant defences by hijacking plant protein
A recent study has uncovered how the pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum disrupts plant defenses through its type III effector RipAF1.
NewsPerfect protection - melanins are particularly important for lichens
Researchers have found evidence in the genome of a newly named lichen that an unusually large proportion of its polyketide synthases are likely responsible for the production of melanins, which protect lichens from excessive sunlight.
NewsRecreational tubing and swimming leave microbial impact on streams
Researchers found that swimming and tubing on a Colorado creek over a busy Labor Day weekend can have a short-term effect, increasing the levels of metals, human gut-associated microbes and substances from personal care products.
NewsStudy of mosquito spit could lead to therapies for viruses like West Nile and yellow fever
Researchers are analyzing samples of noninfectious mosquito saliva in the fight against arboviruses — viruses spread by arthropods like mosquitoes.
NewsA chemical cocktail of micropollutants amplified the effect of algal toxins causing mass fish mortality on the River Oder
Researchers investigating summer 2022’s environmental disaster on the River Oder, which killed up to 60 per cent of fish biomass, have been able to detect more than 120 organic micropollutants in the water samples.
NewsWild and human-cared spotted dolphins harbor different gastrointestinal microbiomes
A recent study highlighted the significant role of food source variations in shaping the gut microbiome of spotted dolphins, even when they inhabit similar environments.
NewsDangerous airborne fungus boosted by California droughts
By analyzing data on reported cases of Valley fever in California, which have increased dramatically over the last two decades, researchers have identified seasonal patterns that could help TO prepare for future surges in Valley fever cases.
NewsThe apple’s battle plan: Unraveling the molecular response to fungal infections
A new study reveals critical insights into how apple trees respond to Glomerella leaf spot (GLS), a severe fungal disease impacting apple yields, and offers promising pathways for breeding disease-resistant apple varieties.
