Harnessing peptide hormone outputs to improve root nodulation’s efficacy

本项目旨在改变我们对豆科植物根瘤共生固氮的理解。根瘤可持续地固定相当数量的氮素，以提高世界各地的作物产量，但它的利用率正在减弱，转而支持使用氮肥。该项目使用尖端工具来定义两种激素系统分别如何促进和限制固氮。该项目希望揭示重新配置这些激素输出的方法，以提高根瘤数量和固氮效果。这些发现将减少对昂贵氮肥的依赖，从而减轻它们造成的巨大环境破坏，从而使农业受益，并将为确保粮食安全提供更可持续的方法。

This project aims to transform our understanding of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules. Root nodulation sustainably fixes sizeable amounts of nitrogen to boost crop production worldwide yet its utilisation is waning in favour of using nitrogen fertilisers. The project applies cutting-edge tools to define how two hormone systems boost and limit nitrogen fixation, respectively. The project expects to reveal ways to reconfigure these hormone outputs to improve nodule number and the efficacy of nitrogen fixation. The findings will benefit agriculture by reducing the reliance on costly nitrogen fertilisers, thus mitigating the huge environmental damage they cause, and will provide more sustainable ways to ensure food security.