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

Most plants allow fungal microorganisms to enter their root cells and provide them with carbohydrates in exchange for a ...

Most plants allow fungal microorganisms to enter their root cells and provide them with carbohydrates in exchange for a better supply of nutrients and ...

Tsukuba, Japan - Legumes such as peas and beans form intimate and mutually beneficial partnerships (symbioses) with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, rhizobia. The plant benefits from an enhanced supply of ...

Scientists discover the genetics inside legumes that control the production of an oxygen-carrying molecule, crucial to the plant’s close relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The finding offers ...

Soybeans and other legumes interact with nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria called rhizobia that are able to convert nitrogen in the air into a form the plant can use to grow and reproduce. Corn and other ...

Peas and other legumes develop spherical or cylindrical structures -- called nodules -- in their roots to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen ...

Researchers have revealed a key piece in the complex genetic systems that control how legume roots form close associations (symbioses) with microbial partners that help supply nutrients to the plant.