Researchers at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, Norfolk, have identified a biological process that enhances plant root interactions with soil microbes.
The discovery could pave the way for crop varieties that require less nitrate and phosphate fertiliser, offering a more sustainable approach to agriculture.
“We can now think of developing a new type of environmentally friendly farming with crops that require less artificial fertiliser,” said Dr Myriam Charpentier, who led the research team.
The excessive use of fertilisers has become a growing environmental issue, contributing to soil degradation and causing nutrient run-offs that pollute rivers. These run-offs encourage algae blooms, which deplete oxygen levels in the water, harming fish and other aquatic life.
The research has pinpointed a way to potentially address this challenge by enabling crops to extract nutrients from the soil more efficiently with the help of soil microbes. This approach is based on a natural process called endosymbiosis, where one organism lives within another in a mutually beneficial relationship. In the wild, some plants already use microbial partnerships to access nutrients in poor soils, but modern agricultural practices—particularly fertiliser use—disrupt these interactions.
Charpentier’s team discovered a specific mutation in the legume Medicago truncatula that strengthens its relationship with bacteria and fungi, which, in turn, help supply the plant with nitrogen and phosphorus. Notably, the researchers found that the same genetic mutation in wheat produced similar results under real field conditions. This breakthrough could lead to the development of wheat varieties capable of harnessing soil microbes for nutrients, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilisers.
“This discovery is created in a wheat variety that is non-GM,” Charpentier added, highlighting that traditional breeding methods could be used to incorporate this trait into commercial crops.
The findings, recently published in Nature, have sparked enthusiasm in the scientific and agricultural communities. Charpentier described the discovery as having “great potential for advancing sustainable agriculture,” offering hope for a future where natural microbial interactions replace the need for high fertiliser inputs in major crops.
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