Nitrogen-fixing plants provide the major biological source of nitrogen for the biosphere, and are particularly important in low-nutrient environments. Actinorhizal symbiosis is a strong contributor to global biological nitrogen fixation process. These soil bacteria are plant symbionts that have a broad host-recognition-specificity. Inter-planting actinorhizal plants with suitable tree crops allows nurse cropping of valuable tree… [Read More]

Wood-feeding termites have microbial communities in their guts that are capable of converting cellulose and hemicellulose into sugars, hydrogen and methane. They can break down as much as a billion tons of raw plant biomass annually, and are of interest to bioenergy researchers hoping to harness these abilities for commercial biofuel production. To better understand… [Read More]

Many microbes that use carbon monoxide as an energy source are found in high temperature environments such as geothermal areas. Researchers think that these carboxydotrophs may be involved in reducing potentially toxic carbon monoxide hotspots by combine with water to form hydrogen, carbon dioxide and acetate, which are in turn used for thermophilic energy conservation… [Read More]

The soil bacteria that interact with the root nodules of legumes such as beans or peas are known as rhizobia. These symbiotic bacteria contribute two-thirds of the nitrogen that is used in agricultural production. As oil prices rise, so does the cost of nitrogen fertilizers, which significantly impacts both global farming economies and bioenergy research,… [Read More]