All Soil & Plant Science articles
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NewsPairing biofertilizers with biochar turns farm and city waste into climate-smart soil solutions
A new review makes the case that organic waste from farms, cities and industries could become a resource for healthier soil and more resilient farming — if two waste-derived soil treatments, microbial biofertilizers and biochar, are used together rather than separately.
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NewsHeatwaves inhibit antibiotic resistance in soils - but at a price
Heatwaves temporarily reduce the amount of resistance genes in the soil, but heat and droughts are also causing significant damage to soils and ecosystems. The temporary dip in resistance therefore does not mean that the health risks from antibiotic resistance disappear.
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NewsBiochar can act as an ‘interface engineer’ to reshape the hidden world around plant roots
A new review shows how biochar simultaneously modifies soil structure, chemistry and microbial communities in the rhizosphere, offering a framework for more precise and sustainable agricultural use.
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NewsFrom soil to outer space: our interview with JAM Systems Microbiology Lead Editor Janet Jansson
We get to know Janet Jansson, who has been appointed as new Lead Editor in Systems Microbiology at the Journal of Applied Microbiology.
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OpinionHow Puerto Rico’s first microbiome research center can reshape global science collaboration
AMI’s Global Ambassador for the Americas, Dr. Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, Chair of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico, reveals why she is spearheading the planned Puerto Rico Center for Microbiome Sciences (PR-CMS)—the first of its kind in the region.
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NewsKazakh researchers ID antiviral and anti-inflammatory compounds in native medicinal plants
Researchers have identified biologically active compounds with antiviral, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effects in several plant species native to Kazakhstan, providing new chemical and experimental data on medicinal flora from Central Asia.
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NewsBlueberry’s waxy shield reveals clues to gray mold resistance
Botrytis cinerea is a broad-host-range necrotrophic fungus that causes gray mold in more than 1,000 plant species. In blueberry, it can damage flowers in the field and later emerge as fruit rot after harvest, reducing shelf life, shipment quality and market value. The disease is especially challenging because latent infections ...
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NewsLess UV light may mean less carbon storage in Antarctic tundra
As the ozone layer heals, less ultraviolet radiation reaches the Antarctic surface—a change usually viewed as beneficial for living organisms. But researchers have found that reduced ultraviolet radiation can substantially weaken the ability of Antarctic tundra to absorb carbon dioxide.
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NewsInternational award supports research into fern-microbe symbiosis
Dr Sophie de Vries will combine evolutionary genomics with experiments that pair ferns and different microbes, to investigate how plants fight off “foes” (diseases) at the same time as supporting their beneficial “friendships” (bacterial partners).
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NewsbZIP transcription factor AflHapX coordinates iron homeostasis and aflatoxin biosynthesis in Aspergillus flavus
Researchers have identified the bZIP transcription factor AflHapX in Aspergillus flavus by searching its genome with the HapX protein sequence from Aspergillus fumigatus. They discovered that AflHapX is critical for A. flavus’s adaptive response to both iron excess and iron starvation.
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NewsUnderground methane leaks may cultivate microbes that help consume them
Researchers have identified where naturally occurring soil microbes consume methane released from underground natural gas leaks. Methane-consuming microbes were most active in a narrow zone near the surface where methane rising from below meets oxygen entering from the atmosphere.
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NewsAn enzyme with potential: New type of plastic-degrading enzyme discovered in bacteria
Researchers have identified a new enzyme that can not only degrade certain polyesters and bioplastics, but also might provide bacteria with resistance to antibiotics. The discovery raises hopes that microorganisms can adapt to plastic degradation more rapidly than previously thought.
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NewsWild tomatillos coat fruits with sticky chemical arsenal, study finds
For decades, research on plant chemical defenses has focused on glandular trichomes—the tiny hair‑like structures on leaves and stems that produce and secrete protective compounds. Acyl sugars, a class of specialized metabolites widespread in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), are known to deter insects and fungal pathogens when produced in leaf ...
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NewsBeneficial bacteria support tomato growth & suppress disease
A new study has identified bacterial strains that both treat tomato bacterial canker—some by delaying the onset of infection up to a week—and promote the growth of the plant.
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NewsProtecting the peanut: Sensors help fend off fungus
Early detection could be the difference between a healthy peanut crop and a devastating outbreak of Sclerotinia blight — a fungal disease capable of causing significant yield loss.
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NewsAntarctica is home to microbes found nowhere else on Earth
Researchers have found evidence that specific microbes in Antarctica’s soils are endemic — located on the continent and nowhere else on Earth.
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NewsPrimed and ready to fight: a nematode pheromone arms plants to battle pathogens
New research has found that a previously unrecognized natural compound can provide lasting protection against a broad range of plant pathogens.
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NewsSurvival of the driest: Directed evolution boosts bacterial tolerance to industrial spray-drying by 1000-fold
Spray-drying is the preferred method for producing dry microbial inoculants for agriculture, offering low cost and easy transport. But many beneficial Gram-negative bacteria struggle to survive the rapid dehydration and heat involved.
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NewsA single gene change turns susceptible peas into fusarium wilt fighters
New research identifies a single dominant gene, PsFwC9, which confers Fusarium wilt resistance in pea plants.
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NewsA hidden susceptibility switch may help potatoes fight late blight
New research reveals how the StRWA2 gene may promote late blight susceptibility by reduce the stability of NLR immune receptors in potatoes.