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.
The upshot of this discovery is that a further understanding of how the nickel-filtering genes work could allow farmers and scientists to more efficiently bioremediate and return crops to polluted soil.
Bioremediation is the process where bacteria, plants, and fungi are used to break down pollutants in soil that has been contaminated by, say, an abandoned factory or industrial site.
As crop farmers are beginning to compete with solar energy farms for space, it is crucial that we make use of what land is available to make food — especially produce, which is better for you, your wallet, and the planet compared to meat and poultry.
Bioremediation is vastly preferable to the traditional method of dealing with polluted soil: digging it up and dumping it somewhere else. That method is more costly and doesn't actually deal with the pollution, whereas bioremediation removes the harmful chemicals and heavy metals.
And with new discoveries like the one from the Washington State University research team, the science behind bioremediation is only becoming more effective and precise.
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