Researchers with the EU-funded Bio-Strategies project have gained important insights into how microorganisms adapt to the mineral environment where they live and how this affects the plants that depend on these minerals.
It has long been suspected that microorganisms have the ability to adapt to their surrounding environment. This is particularly true for those living in soil, where the microorganism must attack mineral grains to extract metal nutrients. But as different minerals have different metal compositions, and because some are harder to leach than others, it is a very different scenario for a microorganism to live in one type of soil or another.
Further details: Understanding how microorganisms adapt to their surroundings