Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, the University of Cologne, and the University of Copenhagen have uncovered a hidden talent of the Casparian strip—a root structure ...

Cambridge scientists have identified two crucial genetic factors needed to produce specialised root organs that can accommodate nitrogen-fixing bacteria in legumes such as peas and beans. In a ...

Recent research on Lotus japonicus, a model leguminous plant, has unveiled that the interaction between legume roots and rhizobia is characterized by periodic gene expression with a six-hour rhythm.

Legume plants do not depend on externally supplied nitrogen, because they can form a symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, called rhizobia. The plants recognize the nitrogen-fixing bacteria and ...

Legumes thrive in low-nitrogen environments by partnering with rhizobia, soil bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium, a usable form for the plants. These beneficial bacteria are ...

A new discovery raises hope that plants can fertilize themselves in close collaboration with soil bacteria and without artificial fertilizers.

Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www ...

The developmental regulators that confer the identity of N-fixing root nodules belong to a transcription factor family (LSH) more commonly associated with defining the shapes of stems, flowers and ...