Bio Briefs

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Matt Nelson

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Nov 16, 2009
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Bacterial 'ropes' tie down shifting Southwest

Tags: arizona state university, bioagriculture, genomics

[Source: Bio-Medicine] - Researchers from Arizona State University have discovered that several species of microbes (cyanobacteria), at least one found prominently in the deserts of the Southwest, have evolved the trait of rope-building to lasso shifting soil substrates.

These tiny filamentous cyanobacteria are typically found in the environment as multicellular single strands or threads. Though known as pioneers in the biostabilization of soils, scientists have long puzzled over the factors that control and promote the twisting of some species' individual threads into thick cords sometimes inches in length.

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