Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal in the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, many farmers rely on this grain for food and feed. But Striga, a parasitic weed, can have a devastating impact on crop yield. With an 8-million-dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an international team will now explore the potential of soil microbes to offer crop protection. The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) is coordinating this 5-year project.

If you’re small, smells are a good way to stand out. A team of researchers led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has demonstrated for the first time that two different types of micro-organisms – bacteria and fungi – use fragrances, known as terpenes, to hold conversations. And that’s not all. “We actually believe that terpenes are the most popular chemical medium on our planet to communicate through.”

Tiny predators in the soil can literally sniff out their prey: soil bacteria, which communicate with each other using scent. A team of researchers from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has discovered that these predators - called protists - 'eavesdrop' on the bacteria's communication. It's a discovery that opens up perspectives for agriculture. The results are available online this month in The ISME Journal, from the publishers of Nature.

Climate change could result in more toxic cyanobacteria. But what determines their toxicity? Dedmer van de Waal has won a major European grant to find out.

Micro-organisms living inside plant roots team up to boost the plant’s growth and tolerance to stress. This research is featured this week in the scientific journal Science.

On 6 July, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander will pay a working visit to the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) in Wageningen.  

The first worldwide analysis of soil nematodes reveals that they are most abundant in arctic areas rather than in the tropics.

Dedmer van de Waal has been named Professor by special appointment of Aquatic Functional Ecology at the University of Amsterdam (UvA).

A team of ecologists and microbiologists that includes NIOO's Paul Bodelier has identified a unique organism in samples from a Romanian cave nicknamed 'Stinky Mountain'. The novel bacteria can grow on methane, an important greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.