They can estimate whether native plants in the neighbourhood of invasive species incorporate the nitrogen fixed by the latter.

A 125-year debate on how nitrogen-fixing bacteria are able to breach the cell walls of legumes has been settled.

The genome of Medicago, a close relative of alfalfa and a long-established model for the study of legume biology, has been sequenced by an international team of scientists, capturing around 94 per cent of its genes.

Soil-dwelling bacteria of the genus Frankia have the potential to produce a multitude of natural products, including antibiotics, herbicides, pigments, anticancer agents, and other useful products.

A new computer model of blue-green algae can predict which of the organism's genes are central to capturing energy from sunlight and other critical processes.