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It Takes a Community of Soil Microbes to Protect Plants From Disease

By Guest PostMay 15, 2011Environment, Scienceactinobacteria, archaea, bacteria, berkeley lab, burkholderia, complex microbial network, coral reefs, deepwater horizon spill, disease, dna sequences, dutch scientists, environmental mysteries, gary andersen, gulf of mexico, immune system, mammals, pathogens, phylochip, plants, potato, psuedomonas, puerto rico, rathmann family foundation, rhizoctonia solani, rice, root fungus, soil, soil microbes, sugar beet, todd desantis, types of bacteria, vegetables, xanthomonas, yvette piceno

*Berkeley Lab scientists decipher immune system for plants beneath our feet*

Those vegetables you had for dinner may have once been protected by an immune system akin to the one that helps you fight disease. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Netherland’s Wageningen University found that plants rely on a complex community of soil microbes to defend themselves against pathogens, much the way mammals harbor a raft of microbes to avoid infections.

The scientists deciphered, for the first time, the group of microbes that enables a patch of soil to suppress a plant-killing pathogen. Previous research on the phenomenon of disease-suppressive soil had identified one or two pathogen-fighting microbes at work. (more…)

2,000 Year-old Deep-sea Black Corals call Gulf of Mexico Home

By Guest PostApril 1, 2011Environmentagainst suffering, anthoza, antipatharia, black coral trees, black corals, coral reefs, corals, deep sea black corals, deep sea coral reef ecosystems, delaware, discover expedition, ecosystem, environmental change, glabberima, greek roots, gulf of mexico, hawaii, johnson sea link, leiopathes, marine ecology, maryland, nancy prouty, organic matter, sea floor, skeletons, symbiotic algae

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — For the first time, scientists have been able to validate the age of deep-sea black corals in the Gulf of Mexico. They found the Gulf is home to 2,000 year-old deep-sea black corals, many of which are only a few feet tall.

These slow-growing, long-living animals thrive in very deep waters—300 meters (984 feet) and deeper—yet scientists say they are sensitive to what is happening in the surface ocean as well as on the sea floor. (more…)

SOS – Save Our Sharks

By PravdaSeptember 19, 2010Environmentachilles tendon, coral reefs, endangered animal, florida shark victim debbie salamone, mediterranean species, pew environment group, pew group, protect biodiversity, save our sharks, shark conservation act, shark populations, uno, victims of shark

It is the opposite of biting the hand that feeds you. This time around, it is a group of people who have been victims of shark bites campaigning to save this endangered animal: every year around seventy-three million sharks are slaughtered.

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Tag Archives: coral reefs

It Takes a Community of Soil Microbes to Protect Plants From Disease

2,000 Year-old Deep-sea Black Corals call Gulf of Mexico Home

SOS – Save Our Sharks