Researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking discovery shedding light on the intricate play between legume plants and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Their study details the crucial role played by ...

Legumes like soybeans, alfalfa, peas, beans, peanuts and many more have a remarkable ability: They can partner with soil ...

Plants have evolved fascinating partnerships with microbes to capture nitrogen from the air and turn it into a usable form for growth. From legumes hosting bacteria in root nodules to fungi trading ...

While promiscuity among humans is often scorned, symbiotic promiscuity can be a sign of excellent teamwork in other species. Plant growth, especially in legumes, flourishes through mutualistic ...

Plants need nitrogen to grow, but they can’t just grab it from the air like we do with oxygen. If the soil doesn’t have enough, farmers have to add fertilizers—an expensive and environmentally tricky ...

A typical day for Jieshun Lin began with a long bus ride to the greenhouses. “For 10 hours each day, I would pull up plants and wash their roots, looking carefully at each individual plant. [Up to] 10 ...

Scientists have found that competition between strains of beneficial bacteria in the soil degrades the service that the bacteria provide to their hosts. Plants form alliances with microbes in the soil ...

It is well known that soil microbes affect plant growth. But the extent of these interactions is not well understood. Using Acmispon strigosus (a native California plant with nodules) and a set of ...