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.

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Sugar-mimicking molecule central to virulence of a common crop disease, study finds

A strain of Pseudomonas syringae manipulates plants by producing a substance called glycosyrin to suppress the immune response. New research shows that glycosyrin does this by mimicking galactose, acting like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

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More Healthy Land

Figure_4_View_of_the_Upper_Section_of_the_Gowanus_Canal_in_Brooklyn,_NY_(30593572870)

News

​Microbes in Brooklyn Superfund site teach lessons on fighting industrial pollution

Researchers discover unprecedented pollution-fighting genetic adaptations in tiny organisms inhabiting Brooklyn’s highly contaminated Gowanus Canal, revealing a potential new approach for cleaning contaminated waters and recovering valuable resources.