RhizoTalk · Decrypting the role of bacterial signals in microbial interactions to enhance Lysobacter establishment in the rhizosphere
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-06-15 → 2020-09-05
- EU contribution
- €168,277
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Decrypting the role of bacterial signals in microbial interactions to enhance Lysobacter establishment in the rhizosphere
Bacterial biocontrol agents represent a promising strategy for the sustainable management plant pathogens In agriculture, beneficial microorganisms thriving in association and interacting with plant roots play an essential role in plant growth and disease suppression and represent a potential solution to replace chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Beneficial bacteria displaying biocontrol activities, for instance, are regarded as a promising strategy for the sustainable management of soil-borne plant pathogens. However, their widespread use is still limited, mainly due to their difficulty to adapt to new conditions in the soil and integrate within indigenous soil microbial communities. The recruitment and maintenance of the soil microbiota is conditioned by plant root exudates, as well as by signalling molecules produced and secreted by both plants and microbes. Bacterial signalling occurs mainly via quorum-sensing (QS) allowing bacterial communities to form and synchronize their behaviour. It is therefore conceivable that, when arriving in the soil, newcomer biocontrol bacteria will perceive and interpret these signals coordinating their establishment and controlling their functioning in the soil microbial community. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action RhizoTalk focused on solving this problem and dedicated to increase knowledge of molecular interactions between microorganisms in the soil by unveiling the response of the model bacterial BCA Lysobacter capsici AZ78 (AZ78) to main bacterial QS signals in the soil and developing consortia formulations that guarantee the establishment bacterial BCA in the field.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Bacterial biocontrol agents (BCAs) are a promising alternative to chemical pesticides in sustainable agriculture. However, their use is often inconsistent in field, mainly due to the difficulty of BCAs to effectively colonize the rhizosphere and integrate in resident microbial communities. As invaders, BCAs have to face indigenous microbiota once arrived on the rhizosphere, and the establishment of interspecific interactions based on quorum sensing (QS) signals may enhance or hinder their establishment in the rhizosphere. With the objective to solve the problem of BCA inconsistency in field, our research is aimed at unveiling the response of a model BCA to main QS signals released by rhizosphere-living bacteria. To do that, we designed a straightforward working plan based on the combination of microbiology, transcriptomics and formulation technologies. We will use Lysobacter capsici AZ78 (AZ78) as model BCA and QS signals already characterized in rhizosphere-living bacteria. Firstly, we will identify main QS signaling systems included in AZ78 genome through genome mining and we will dissect the AZ78 transcriptional response to QS signals through RNA-Seq. Concurrently, we will identify bacterial strains living on tomato rhizosphere able to boost the AZ78 capacity to release antibiotics and resist UV-light, thanks to positive interactions. Finally, we will develop novel formulations of bacterial consortia (AZ78 with helper bacterial strains) incorporating also positive QS signals. The outcome of this project will be a milestone in the development of next generation BCAs relying on the interspecific interactions to favor BCA establishment in the rhizosphere. The achievement of the results will allow me to create a research group focusing on the ecology and formulations of BCAs, a topic that will meet the interest of industries investing in eco-friendly fungicides and European policy inclined to reducing the input of chemical pesticides in agriculture.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TRENTO · TrentoCoordinatorItaly
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/797028
- https://www.researchgate.net/project/RhizoTalk-Decrypting-the-role-of-bacterial-signals-in-microbial-interactions-to-enhance-Lysobacter-establishment-in-the-rhizosphere
Data: CORDIS, © European Union