AMES, Iowa ( IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH ) - Iowa State University researchers have unlocked new secrets within the bacteria responsible for the creation of thousands of fruits and vegetables as we know them today, with the goal of seeing how they can balance its uses as a tool versus its prevalence as infection.

Kan Wang, an ISU professor of agronomy and biotechnology, and students have released a paper detailing how they investigated the chromosomes of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a bacterium responsible for crown gall disease in plants and the most crucial instrument in genetically modifying crops.

Using gene editing tools they tailored to their needs, Wang said the team manipulated Agrobacterium chromosomes and found that by rearranging its DNA, scientists can impact how well the plant gro

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