Rene Geurts: Living on air Living on air The origins of nitrogen
symbiosis Nitrogen: it’s essential to all life on earth and
abundant in the air we breathe in and out. But it’s also one of
the strongest chemical compounds we know. Only some plants can
unlock the treasure inside the air, by using a special bacteria:
Rhizobium. How did these plants develop this precious tool?
Plant researcher René Geurts wants to crack this secret and does
groundbreaking research on its evolutionary origin. <a href="htt
p://www.dejongeakademie.nl/smartsite.dws?ch=DJA&id=23131&lang=EN
G">René Geurts</a> (1968) has carried out groundbreaking
research in the field of molecular developmental biology. In
collaboration with other plant biologists, he has decoded a set
of genes used by plants such as members of the pea family to
develop root nodules to host nitrogen fixing Rhizobium bacteria.
His current research focuses on the evolution of this symbiotic
signalling network. The research conducted by René Geurts is
interdisciplinary in