Move over, CO₂—nitrous oxide (N₂O) is the stealthy greenhouse gas sneaking out of farm soils and warming the planet 265x faster. But scientists just found a quirky hero: Cloacibacterium sp. CB-01, a bacteria that devours N₂O emissions like a midnight snack .
In a Nature study, researchers revealed this naturally occurring microbe slashed N₂O emissions by 94% after fertilizer application in field trials. Best part? It plays nice with other soil microbes and could be added to manure-based fertilizers—something many farmers already use.
\"This opens up new possibilities for bioengineering farmed soil,\"
said lead researcher Lars Bakken. The bacteria, sourced from machines that turn cow waste into biofuel, isn’t genetically modified, making it a green-light solution for eco-conscious farms.
While the tech could hit fields in 3–4 years, there’s a catch: farmers aren’t paid to curb emissions. Bakken urges policymakers to create incentives: \"The authorities need to make this profitable.\"
Experts like Purdue’s Lori Hoagland call the discovery \"tremendous\" but stress more testing across global soil types. Still, with agriculture responsible for 6% of U.S. emissions, this bacteria might just be the climate hack we’ve been missing.
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