Loading video.
VIDEO: Microbe-Based Replacements for Chemical Pesticide Replacement.
A team of scientists from Tokyo University of Science has developed a screening method based on cultured plant cells that makes such testing easier. This. view more
Credit: Tokyo University of Science
Plants have evolved unique immunity mechanisms that they can activate upon detecting the presence of a pathogen. Interestingly, the presence of some nonpathogenic microorganisms can also prompt a plant to activate its systemic immunity mechanisms, and some studies have shown that pretreating agricultural crops with such immunity-activating nonpathogenic microorganisms can leave the crops better prepared to fight off infections from pathogenic microorganisms. In effect, this means that immunity-activating nonpathogenic microorganisms can function like vaccines for plants, providing a low-risk stimulus for the plant s immune system that prepares it for dealing with genuine threats. These a