Using high-powered DNA-based tools, a recent study at the University of Illinois identified soil microbes that negatively affect ragweed and provided a new understanding of the complex relationships going on beneath the soil surface between plants and microorganisms. “Plant scientists have been studying plant-soil feedback for decades,” said the lead researcher Tony Yannarell. “Some microbes are famous for their ability to change the soil, such as the microbes that are associated with legumes-we knew about those bacteria. But now we have the ability to use high-power DNA fingerprinting tools to look at all of the microbes in the soil, beyond… Login to continue

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