All Soil & Plant Science articles
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News
Evolutionary study reveals the toxic reach of disease-causing bacteria across the plant kingdom
The capacity of bacteria to spread disease across the plant kingdom may be much more widespread than previously suspected, according to a comparative evolutionary analysis, using the diversity of Pseudomonas syringae bacteria.
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Careers
Romy Moukarzel: a year as a Junior Editor with Letters in Applied Microbiology
A year since we launched our Junior Editor programme with Letters in Applied Microbiology, Dr Romy Moukarzel, Lecturer in Plant Protection at Lincoln University New Zealand, reveals her experiences.
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News
What a century-old grapevine reveals about a disease that plagues wine country
Researchers used bacterial DNA from a 120-year-old herbarium specimen to reconstruct the history of Pierce’s disease in California.
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News
Deadly mould strains highly likely to acquire resistance to new drugs
Scientists have identified strains of one of the world’s most dangerous fungal pathogens, already resistant to our most effective antifungal drugs, which are also five times more likely to acquire resistance to desperately needed new treatments in development. Source: Ufficio Comunicazione, Azienda Ospedaliera SS. Antonio e ...
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News
Researchers develop model to evaluate food safety control strategies for produce industry
You’ve probably heard of product recalls involving lettuce, spinach, or other leafy greens. Consuming these popular vegetables are among the main causes of food poisoning, affecting thousands of people every year. Leafy greens can become contaminated with pathogenic E. coli or other bacteria through splashes of soil or contaminated irrigation ...
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News
Hidden threats to soil revealed in sewage sludge research
Hidden threats from the agricultural use of contaminated sewage sludge could be contributing to already diminished poor soil health, according to a new report.
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News
More attention should be paid to the health of deep soil in low-yield farmland
A recent study identified that a higher soil health index in low-yielding fields may be an important factor to maintain wheat yield as food demand grows rapidly.
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News
New collaboration aims to optimize nutrient uptake and tolerance to environmental stress with crop boosting fungi
A joint program to develop methods to accelerate and optimize the in vitro growth of AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) for more sustainable agriculture has been announced.
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News
Historic outbreaks of coffee wilt disease linked to gene transfer from another fungus
The fungus that causes coffee wilt disease repeatedly took up segments of DNA from a related fungal pathogen, which contributed to successive outbreaks of the disease.
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News
Do soil microbes affect flowers’ ability to attract bees?
New research reveals that certain soil microbes can help plants grow bigger flowers, therefore attracting more bees.
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New study discovers the mechanism for fungal colonization of plant roots
Scientists have discovered how the beneficial root fungus Serendipita indica successfully colonizes plant roots of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
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News
Antibiotics from bacteria could counter biotic stress in crops, replacing synthetic chemicals
Actinomycetes-derived antibiotics and other metabolites could be deployed to mitigate biotic stress in crops, potentially replacing synthetic chemicals as chemo-control agents against phytopathogens, a new review suggests.
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News
Climate impacts on European soils predicted by scientists
New research has revealed how tiny soil microbes are impacted by extreme weather events, offering new insights into the risks posed by climate change.
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News
Hot water best for sanitizing in-shell pecans, sanitizers prevent cross-contamination
To identify best practices for microbial safety in the pecan market, scientists conducted a study to evaluate methods of sanitizing pecans against Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, also known as STEC.
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News
Soil ecosystem more resilient when land managed sustainably
Compared to intensive land use, sustainable land use allows better control of underground herbivores and soil microbes, a new study shows. The soil ecosystem is thus more resilient and better protected from disturbance under sustainable management.
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News
Building roots in glass, a bio-inspired approach to creating 3D microvascular networks using plants and fungi
Researchers have developed a new and convenient technique for building complex 3D microfluidic networks, using plants and fungi which grew their roots into a ‘soil’ medium of nanoparticles of glass (silica) and a cellulose based binding agent.
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News
Researchers reveal HIV latency reversing properties in African plant
Scientists have uncovered mechanisms of a medicinal plant with anti-HIV potential. Croton oligandrus Pierre & Hutch is a species of tree used in traditional healing in Cameroon to treat a variety of diseases and conditions including cancers and diabetes.
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News
One new genus and 11 new species of fungi proposed
Scientists have proposed new taxa, combinations, and reports under the Didymiaceae and Physaraceae in China, mainly including 1 new genus and 11 new species.
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News
How do microbiomes influence the study of life?
Researchers from the awardwinning One Health Microbiome Center reveal how holobiont biology underpins a holistic understanding of how life’s forms and functions, from human disease to agricultural output, depend upon the relationships between microbes and hosts.
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News
New technique reveals the living microbes in Earth’s driest desert
An international team of researchers describes a new way to separate extracellular from intracellular genetic material, providing better insights into microbial life in low-biomass environments such as the Atacama Desert.