Researchers in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at UCLA and Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources have isolated microbes that can enhance plant growth and increase agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner: providing a potential solution for food scarcity.
BACKGROUND
Exponential growth in the world population, coupled with environmental issues, underlines the need for increasing crop yield and meeting rising food demands. Many current approaches utilize synthetic fertilizers to improve agricultural productivity. However, these approaches often have serious environmental consequences including air/water pollution and loss of soil fertility, which will only worsen the food crisis in the long term. As a potential alternative, plant-growth promoting bacteria (PGPB), represent a more sustainable and environmentally friendly solution. Plants have a complex relationship with microorganisms, known as the phytomicrobiome. Bacteria plays an important role in the phytomicrobiome, with beneficial bacteria allowing plant growth in the most inhospitable environments. Unfortunately, while research in this area has significantly increased in recent years, the role of PGPB in food production remains limited. Therefore, there is an important unmet need to identify PGPBs to plant sources that can allow plants to grow more favorably in harsh conditions.
INNOVATION
Researchers in UCLA’s Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources have jointly isolated a number of PGPBs from root nodules of legumes grown in Botswana soils that may be useful in agriculture, silviculture, horticulture, and environmental cleanup applications. Notably, these microbes have been observed to fix nitrogen, chelate iron, solubilize phosphate, and secrete cellulase amongst other benefits. These species can therefore sustainably promote plant growth and agricultural productivity in harsh environments, which will only become more widespread as global warming trends continue.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
● Promotes plant growth and improves yield in harsh environments for:
- Agriculture
- Horticulture
- Silviculture
- Environmental cleanup
ADVANTAGES:
● Stimulates plant growth in a variety of harsh environments
● Avoids the environmental consequences of using chemical fertilizers
DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE: The microbes have been isolated and identified from plant tissues, especially legume root nodules.
RELATED PAPERS:
Kosty, M. A.; Pule-Meulenberg, F.; Humm, E. A.; Martinez-Hidalgo, P.; Maymon, M.; Mohammadi, S.; ... & Hirsch, A. M., “Isolation of potential plant growth-promoting bacteria from nodules of legumes grown in arid Botswana soil,” bioRxiv, 2020
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.02.257907v1.abstract