“Using the same tools that are driving breakthroughs in research on the human microbiome, we can now exploit the soil microbiome to solve some of the connected problems of food security and environmental sustainability. A ‘pivotal’ moment arrived a couple of years ago when scientists demonstrated that bacteria could be genetically engineered to perform nitrogen fixation within the roots of non-legume crops, such as corn, in a way that drastically reduces the use of fertilizers. Partial replacement of fertilizers with gene-edited bacteria would also reduce nitrogen runoff and N2O emissions.”

From Genetic Literacy Project.