This TED Talk features plant doctor Giles Oldroyd discussing the potential of microbial symbiosis in sustainable agriculture. Oldroyd explains how soybean plants utilize nitrogen-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi to obtain nutrients, contrasting this with the environmentally damaging reliance on inorganic fertilizers in modern agriculture. He details his research on transferring this natural nutrient acquisition process to cereal crops, focusing on re-networking existing genetic components rather than creating new ones. His team has successfully engineered nodules in non-legumes, a key step towards nitrogen-fixing cereals, potentially revolutionizing sustainable food production. The ultimate goal is to reduce reliance on inorganic fertilizers by leveraging the natural symbiotic relationships between plants and microbes.
