Skip to ContentSkip to Navigation
About us Latest news News News articles

Seagrasses survive thanks to subterranean symbiosis

18 June 2012
Seagrass (Photo: Marjolijn Christianen; Insert: Laura L. Govers)
Seagrass (Photo: Marjolijn Christianen; Insert: Laura L. Govers)

A great deal of silt collects around seagrass beds, and the decomposition of this organic matter releases a lot of poisonous sulphide. So how are seagrasses able to thrive? The surprising answer is thanks to bacteria growing in the gills of small clams living among their roots.

Tjisse van der Heide and his colleagues from the University of Groningen discovered this symbiotic relationship, and last Friday they published their findings in the journal Science. See also News & Analysis in Science.

Last modified:10 December 2019 1.10 p.m.
View this page in: Nederlands

More news

  • 29 April 2024

    Tactile sensors

    Every two weeks, UG Makers puts the spotlight on a researcher who has created something tangible, ranging from homemade measuring equipment for academic research to small or larger products that can change our daily lives. That is how UG...

  • 29 April 2024

    Behind the scenes: how UG and Hanze UAS students are jointly developing a Mars rover

    This year the students of the Makercie team are participating in the physical edition of the European Rover Challenge in Poland. Read more about the team and the collaboration between the RUG and Hanze UAS here.

  • 23 April 2024

    Nine MSCA Doctoral Network grants for FSE researchers

    Nine researchers of the Faculty of Science and Engineering have received a Horizon Europe Marie Sklodowska Curie Doctoral Network grant.