Biologists Identify Areas in the Genome Altered by Exposure to Nitrogen Fertilizer
April 20, 2016 |
Plant biologists at the University of Illinois have identified the area of genomes within nitrogen-fixing bacteria in roots (rhizobia) that's being altered when the plant they serve is exposed to nitrogen fertilizer. Katy Heath, Illinois professor of biology, conducted the study with Christie Klinger and Jennifer Lau from Michigan State University. When they studied legumes at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station in Michigan last year, the researchers determined that in fact, fertilizer caused rhizobia to become less beneficial to the plants they served. The new study was launched to determine why that was so.
In the new study, the researchers sequenced samples from a control group and from the nitrogen-fertilized group, where they located a key region of the genome that appears to be differentiated between those two groups. They found the difference in an area called the symbiosis plasmid, an area of extra chromosones in rhibozia that enables them to be mutually beneficial with the plants, and where the gene is located that actually breaks the bond between nitrogen molecules and the air to "fix" it into ammonium that the plant can use. At that region of the genome, the differentiation suggests that the effects of nitrogen fertilizer were to make the less beneficial rhizobia different than the controlled rhizobia at that location.
For more details, read the news release at the University of Illinois website.
|
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- ISAAA Annual Report on Biotech Crops for 2015 Launched in Beijing, China
- Egypt Hosts BioVision 2016
- African Farmers Planted 3.5M Ha of Biotech Crops in 2015
- Biologists Identify Areas in the Genome Altered by Exposure to Nitrogen Fertilizer
- Scientists Present New Tree of Life
- GM Food Acceptance Rises with Education Level and Income
- Scientists Discover AMOR, a Love Potion for Plant Fertilization
- NZBIO Tells Government to Look Again at GMO Rules
- China Considers Planting of Pest Resistant Corn
- EFSA Releases Scientific Opinion on Dow AgroSciences GM Cotton Application
- Researchers Discover the Secret of Zinc-Rich Plants
-
Research Highlights
- Development of Mirafiori Lettuce big-Vein Virus-Resistant Lettuce
-
Beyond Crop Biotech
- USDA Declares Gene-edited Mushrooms as Unregulated
-
Announcements
- Emerging Technologies for Global Food Security
-
Resources
- New OECD Publications on Safety Assessment of Transgenic Organisms in the Environment
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (April 24, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (April 24, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet