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.
Some soil bacteria can acquire sets of genes that enable them to pump the heavy metal nickel out of their systems, a study has found. This enables the bacteria to not only thrive in otherwise toxic soils but help plants grow there as well.
Read storyA study has revealed “considerable farmer knowledge” on different aspects of antibiotics risks – including antimicrobial resistance – associated with their use on livestock in Kenya.
Lignin is an abundant natural polymer which is eliminated as a byproduct in the pulp and paper industry. A recent review article explored different microbial processes available for sustainable lignin valorization, yielding not only environmental, but also economic benefits.
New research explains how eating faeces, known as coprophagy, shapes wild birds’ digestive tracts, enabling them to absorb lost or deficient nutrients and adjust to seasonal variations in food sources.
Soil microbes near the Centralia mine fire reveal new information about how nature responds to — and potentially recovers from — unnatural disasters.