Engineered microbes could reduce fertilizer emissions, researchers find

A growing body of research suggests that beneficial soil microbes seeded around crop roots can provide nitrogen to plants, potentially reducing the energy-intensive fertilizer production that accounts for significant agricultural emissions.

First covered Sep 1, 2026 · 2:00 AM PT · 1 article · no longer in the live window

Engineered microbes could reduce fertilizer emissions, researchers find — Image via technologyreview.com

Coverage

25d MIT Technology Review · Climate How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops — Fertilizer is crucial for the global food supply, but making it uses a lot of energy and produces a lot of emissions. Some companies hope microbes can help.

More coverage from around the web

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Engineering nitrogen-fixing microbiomes with waste-derived carbon sources: toward circular and resilient biofertilizer solution

frontiersin.org Frontiers | Engineering nitrogen-fixing microbiomes with waste-derived carbon sources: toward circular and resilient biofertilizer solution

cnbc.com Joyn Bio aims to solve the world's fertilizer problem with microbes

synbiobeta.com ‘Fixing’ Nitrogen: Can Engineered Microbes Replace Synthetic Fertilizers? - SynBioBeta

cen.acs.org Can microbes replace synthetic fertilizer? - C&EN

Appeared in: 2026-09-02 (#18)

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