Turning sand into sheep feed - Lebeckia ambigua an agricultural perennial!

该项目旨在培育适应气候变化的固氮豆科植物。豆科植物的固氮作用为澳大利亚农业经济贡献了30亿美元，但不断变化的降雨模式对其中的大部分构成了威胁。一个解决方案是将牧场的生长转变为依赖多年生植物，这些植物受非季节性降雨的影响较小。双歧Lebeckia ambigua是一种杰出的多年生豆科植物，开始了这一变化，但它的固氮能力受到其共生根瘤菌死亡导致结瘤失败的影响。该项目旨在提高研究小组在南非为Lebeckia ambigua发现的独特根瘤菌共生体在酸性和贫瘠土壤中的存活率。

This project aims to develop nitrogen-fixing legumes adapted to the changing climate. Nitrogen fixation from legumes is worth $3 billion to the Australian agricultural economy, but changing rainfall patterns threaten much of this. One solution is to transition pasture growth to a reliance on perennial plants, which are less affected by unseasonal rain. Lebeckia ambigua is an outstanding perennial legume to begin this change, but its nitrogen fixation is compromised by nodulation failure caused by death of its symbiotic rhizobia. This project intends to improve the survival in acid and infertile soils of the unique rhizobial symbionts the research team has discovered for Lebeckia ambigua in South Africa.