Researchers at UC Davis used CRISPR engineering to boost a plant metabolite in wheat that encourages soil bacteria to form biofilms and fix atmospheric nitrogen, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizer. In preclinical and greenhouse studies the modified wheat stimulated bacterial nitrogen fixation via increased root exudates, with potential to lower fertilizer use and associated pollution while raising yields. The work demonstrates an alternative to transferring nitrogenase genes into plants by altering plant‑microbe signaling to recruit native nitrogen‑fixing communities.