Researchers make breakthrough discovery that could change the way we approach farming in polluted soils: 'All of [a] sudden it's resistant'
Posted by Staff of goGardenNow on
The Cool Down reports, "Scientists have made a discovery that could help to grow plants in polluted soil.
"A Washington State University-led research team discovered that bacteria found in some wild soil can acquire a set of genes that allows it to filter out the heavy metal nickel, which is toxic.
"But since nickel occurs naturally in soil and water, it seems that some plants have adapted to be able to pump the metal out of their systems.
"'We can say with certainty that these are the genes that are letting the bacteria survive the heavy metal exposure because if we take them away, they die. If we add them to a new bacterium that was sensitive to the heavy metal, all of [a] sudden it's resistant," said Stephanie Porter, the Washington State University professor who led the research.'"