legume

He added, "Soybeans are a legume that contains a great deal of protein. Soybeans are 40% protein, while wheat is only 10%. Therefore, the more soybeans you use, the more protein you have."

Standing knee-deep in an emerald expanse, a row of trees offering respite from the sweltering heat, Rosa Morales diligently relocates chipilín, a Central American legume, from one bed of soil to another.

In an interdisciplinary study, researchers discovered that symbiotic bacteria communicate with legume plants through specific molecules and that this communication influences which bacteria grow near the plant roots.

The results in Nature Communications find that symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing bacteria can ensure dominance among soil microbes due to its signalling-based communication with the legume plant host.

Researchers discovered that when legumes need nitrogen, they will send out from the roots and into the soil specific molecules that are in turn recognized by the symbiotic bacteria to produce another molecule, the Nod factor which is recognized back by the legume plant.