Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas. Its global warming potential can be up to 300 times that of CO2 over a 100-year period. Globally, more than half of man-made nitrogen oxide emissions come from agriculture.

A reduction in the nitrogen fertilizer used and an improvement in the nitrogen use efficiency of crops are therefore important measures in climate protection. An international team, coordinated by the Vienna Metabolomics Center (VIME) of the University of Vienna, is now presenting a new concept in the scientific journal Trends in Plant Science with which the efficiency of nitrogen fertilization is increased and the emission of nitrogen oxide (N2O) reduced.

The main goal of these new studies, building on many years of research, is to offer farmers a better economical alternative, where they can use crop plant derived biological inhibitors instead of highly polluting chemical fertilizers. An important task of the research is to better understand the complex root-soil microbiome ecosystem and to develop technological platforms that can use a root-soil balance for sustainable next-generation agriculture. The international team led by the University of Vienna has now taken an important step in this direction.

Microorganisms in the soil produce greenhouse gases
The background to the study is a process in plant cultivation that produces the harmful greenhouse gas known as nitrification. Microorganisms in the soil convert the nitrogen fertilizer into nitrogen oxide and other substances.

To counteract this, nitrification inhibitors are used in agriculture, which can slow down the nitrification of the nitrogenous fertilizer. These inhibitors are recommended by the IPCC as a means of mitigating climate change and are already being used in agriculture; but they can also have disadvantages, such as poor efficiency, non-biodegradable and toxic to the environment.

However, there are also naturally occurring, so-called biological nitrification inhibitors (BNI): for example, plant roots can exudate compounds with a similar effect that have an inhibiting effect on the nitrifying microorganisms in the soil.

New approach to more efficient search for natural nitrification inhibitors
The Vienna Metabolomic Center (VIME) with the participation of the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) is now presenting a new approach with which the natural slowdown in the nitrification process can be better understood and used.

The systems biologist and ecologist Wolfram Weckwerth, director of VIME and lead author of the study, explains: "With a new and holistic methodological approach, we are opening a new chapter in understanding the interaction between root exudates of plants and the nitrification-inhibiting compounds in the soil and, above all, we develop plants that perform this process more efficiently. Ideally, these crops will not only supply our staple foods, but can also significantly improve the negative climate gas balance in agriculture."

Arindam Ghatak, also an ecologist at the University of Vienna and one of the main authors of the study, adds: "It is important to characterize the substances released by the plant roots and to decode the interaction with the soil organisms. With the help of complex metabolomics analysis platforms, we can test the messenger substances of the roots and thus their potential to inhibit or prevent the nitrification process. This is possible by using OMICS technologies such as proteomics and metabolomics."

Research Report:Panomics at the interface of root-soil microbiome and BNI

Related Links
University of Vienna
Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Court challenge in Kenya over GM crops
Nairobi (AFP) Oct 14, 2022
A Kenyan lawyer said Friday he has filed a court challenge to a decision by the new government to lift a decade-old ban on genetically modified crops. Paul Mwangi wants the High Court to set aside last week's cabinet order allowing the open cultivation and importation of GM crops to Kenya, which is currently in the grip of its worst drought in four decades. "The hasty removal of all regulatory protocols... is neither rational nor reasonable," Mwangi said in court documents dated October 13. ... read more