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.
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.
Read storyThe viral rabies strain found in the dead animals on Anchieta Island in Ubatuba was the variant transmitted by vampire bats, which probably fed on the capybaras’ blood at a time of habitat disturbance.
A recent study explored the effects of connectivity loss within pond networks, using an outdoor experimental setup of artificial ponds (mesocosms).
New research reveals that bacteria can evolve by losing their flagella, the structures responsible for movement.
A new study reveals astonishingly high microbial diversity in some of the Earth’s deepest, darkest subsurface environments, including gold mines, in aquifers and deep boreholes in the seafloor.
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.
Researchers used bacterial DNA from a 120-year-old herbarium specimen to reconstruct the history of Pierce’s disease in California.
Public sector data associated with health are a highly valuable resource, yet in practice data-sharing poses multiple challenges. Dr Nicola Holden, from AMI’s One Health Scientific Advisory Group, explores the murky morass of big data.
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.
The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has been awarded two pump-prime grants from the International Veterinary Vaccinology Network (IVVN) to advance crucial research into Bovine Babesiosis and Bovine Tuberculosis vaccines to support cattle welfare.
Influenza or flu virus can remain infectious in refrigerated raw milk for up to five days, a new study reveals. The findings come at a time when outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cattle have raised concerns about the potential for a new pandemic.
A new study suggests microbes in glacial rivers and lakes may play a crucial role in mitigating the effects of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that recent studies have shown emerging as glaciers melt in warming global temperatures.
A new study offers a concise overview of the current status of leptospirosis in China, the findings from epidemiologic studies on leptospirosis, and the impact of animal and environmental factors on leptospirosis.
Researchers combined a series of genetics, immunology and molecular biology approaches to confirm that Cul3 plays an essential role in the Drosophila antimicrobial immune defense.
This year saw the launch of the Centre for Microbial Interactions, representing one of the world’s largest concentrations of microbiologists on a single site at Norwich Research Park. Project manager Dr Sam Rowe reveals the journey to this point.
Hidden threats from the agricultural use of contaminated sewage sludge could be contributing to already diminished poor soil health, according to a new report.
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.
A new study offers insights into cell death regulation by viruses like SARS-CoV-2, and how bats and humans respond differently to tricks that such viruses use to manipulate the host’s defense.
A new study provides the first description of how a wild bird’s microbiome relates to its ornamentation and body condition. A Northern cardinal’s gut microbiome diversity can be predicted by its body condition, and the quality of its ornamentation – red plumage and beak.
A plea was published in two days after the European Parliament approved revisions to water quality assessment standards.
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.
A study by a group of scientists shows that larval infestations of Aedes aegypti in open-air disused containers increased in response to the effects of the weather phenomenon.
Scientists have discovered peculiar mitochondria-like symbionts all over the world, and unveiled their surprising metabolic capacities in a new study.