SBIR Phase I: A Microbial Inoculant for the Degradation and Recycling of Hemp Waste into a Nutrient-Rich Fertilizer

SBIR第一期项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是提高将剩余植物物质转化为肥料的技术的先进性，以支持农业产业。拟议的项目将开发一种微生物接种剂，将收获后剩余的植物物质快速有效地转化为营养丰富的生物可利用肥料，用于滋养未来的作物，特别是在新兴的大麻产业中。该研究项目的结果可能适用于其他常见农作物（如玉米）的降解以及将原料转化为生物燃料。 这项技术将为农场增加价值，为农民节省资金，并通过生产和使用合成肥料防止进一步的环境危害。该SBIR第一阶段项目推进了一种合作的合成微生物接种剂，可将木质素（大麻中的一种高度抗降解的聚合物）降解为营养丰富的肥料，从而提高大麻产量。这一创新将通过开发和执行定量微生物降解木质素和产生过氧化物酶（降解木质素的酶家族）的效率的测定来实现。在鉴定出具有木质素降解能力的微生物后，这些微生物将被并入植物生长促进共培养物中，此时接种物将被优化以在宽范围的温度和条件下实现最大的木质素降解效率。这将通过实验室规模的适应来实现，即自然强制微生物进化。最后，将评估优化的微生物接种剂的产量，以提高大麻种子萌发和减少植物病原体的有害影响的能力。这些特性将通过种子发芽试验和微生物平板竞争试验进行检测。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this SBIR Phase I Project is to increase the advance a technology to transform leftover plant matter into a fertilizer to support the agricultural industry. The proposed project will develop a microbial inoculant that will rapidly and efficiently transform post-harvest leftover plant matter into a nutrient-rich bioavailable fertilizer used to nourish future crops, particularly in the emerging hemp industry. The findings from this research project are potentially applicable to the degradation of other common agricultural crops, such as corn, and the conversion of feedstock into biofuels. The technology will add value to farms, save farmers money, and prevent further environmental harm through the production and use of synthetic fertilizer. This SBIR Phase I project advances a cooperative, synthetic microbial inoculant that degrades lignin, a polymer in hemp that is highly resistant to degradation, into a nutrient-rich fertilizer that increases hemp yield. This innovation will be achieved by developing and performing assays that quantify the efficiency with which microbes degrade lignin and produce peroxidases, the family of enzymes that degrade lignin. After identifying microbes with lignin-degrading capabilities, these microbes will be incorporated into a plant growth promoting co-culture, at which point the inoculant will be optimized to achieve the maximum lignin degradation efficiency at a wide range of temperatures and conditions. This will be achieved through lab-scale adaptation, i.e. a natural forced microbial evolution. Finally, the output of the optimized microbial inoculant will be evaluated for its ability to increase hemp seed germination and decrease the harmful effects of plant pathogens. These characteristics will be examined using seed germination assays and microbial plate competition assays.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.