Small root mutation could make crops fertilize themselves

Scientists at Aarhus University discovered that changing just two amino acids in plant root proteins can enable crops to form partnerships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, potentially allowing major food crops to fertilize themselves. Only legumes like peas and beans can naturally absorb nitrogen from soil bacteria, while crops like wheat and corn require synthetic fertilizer that accounts for two percent of global energy consumption. The researchers modified receptor proteins that normally trigger plant immune responses, transforming them into switches that welcome beneficial bacteria instead, and demonstrated this works in laboratory plants and barley.