It\u2019s a prospect that excites student researcher Larissa Barelli: a fertilizer manufactured by Mother Nature herself, free from the conventional human-made chemicals that pollute the environment.<\/p>\n
She and her colleague Soumya Moonjely, both PhD students in the Department of Biological Sciences, are part of a team whose research is bringing that vision a step closer to reality.<\/span><\/p>\n The researchers are studying how a particular type of fungus interacts with plants.<\/span><\/p>\n The team made some fascinating discoveries: that the <\/span>Metarhizium<\/span><\/i> fungus kills bugs and transfers nitrogen contained within those bugs to the roots of plants.<\/span><\/p>\n Recently, the team found that this nitrogen-supplying fungus is even more efficient because it can receive energy from the plants, making their relationship self-sustaining and an ideal fertilizer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn future, you will likely be able to replace the chemical stuff with just doing multiple applications of the fungus near the plant,\u201d Barelli said.<\/span><\/p>\n This fungus can help plants in several ways. It can accelerate plant growth, help plants to beat other pathogenic microbes and can also support plants during environmental stress.<\/span><\/p>\n The mechanics of the process is explained in a 60-second video \u2014 Insects, a Dinner for Two \u2014 Barelli submitted to the NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) Science, Action!<\/em> Competition.<\/span><\/p>\n