In a Fix: Agricultural chemicals disturb a natural relationship

Several pesticides can disrupt a partnership that enables certain plants to take up nitrogen by enlisting the help of bacteria. As well as stunting the growth of those plants, the newfound effect may be decreasing soil fertility, the researchers suggest.

LEGUME LODGERS. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria Sinorhizobium meliloti, engineered to fluoresce green, congregate on the root of an alfalfa plant.