As farmers battle in their above-ground war on weeds, they may inadvertently create underground casualties โ unintentionally attacking the beneficial bacteria that help crops guard against enemy fungus, according to Cornell University research.
Specifically, Cornell researchers found negative consequences of the weed-killing herbicide glyphosate on Pseudomonas, aย soil-friendly bacteria.
…
Soil bacteria require their proteins โ composed ofย amino acidsย โ and their metabolism to support cellular growth and the production of important metabolites to sustain their underground fight. But glyphosate applied to crops can drain into the soil and disrupt the molecular factories in the bacterial cells in some species, interfering with their metabolic and amino acid machinery.
Share this article
The new findings show that glyphosate does not target the amino acid production and metabolic gadgetry equally among the Pseudomonas species. For example, when Pseudomonas protegens, a bacteria used as a biocontrol agent for cereal crops, and Pseudomonas fluorescens, used as a fungus biocontrol for fruit trees, were exposed to varying glyphosate concentrations, the researchers noted no ill effects. However, in two species of Pseudomonas putida, used in soil fungus control for corn and otherย crops, the bacteria had notably stunted growth….
[Editor’s note: Read the full study]
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post:ย War on weeds takes toll on beneficial bacteria in the soil
