EAGER: High-throughput discovery of microbial genes conferring improved root colonization.

EAGER：高通量发现微生物基因，改善根部定殖。

• 批准号: 2120593
• 负责人: Nathan Crook
• 金额: $ 14.99万
• 依托单位: North Carolina State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-02-01 至 2024-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2120593&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; throughput; discovery; microbial; genes

Plant roots are surrounded by billions of microscopic organisms called bacteria. These bacteria help the plant obtain nutrients and grow. Because of how important bacteria are, many people are interested in developing fertilizers containing bacteria to help plants grow better. However, it has become clear that while some bacteria, when added to a growing plant, can help them grow under artificial laboratory conditions, hardly any bacteria can help a plant grow when applied under realistic conditions. We would like to understand why some bacteria are able to help plants grow, while some bacteria cannot. To do this, we will study the genes that growth-promoting bacteria have, and determine whether these genes can convert a non-growth-promoting bacteria into a growth-promoting one. This work will be performed in corn, and will train one graduate student.Beneficial microorganisms can greatly improve crop plant performance, motivating their use as seed inoculants. However, exogenous microbes are often outcompeted in the field, which limits their utility and reveals fundamental gaps in our understanding of root colonization. The rationale for this proposal is that the genes that are most important for colonizing the root are largely unknown. Recent work using comparative genomics and knockout mutants has provided the first insights into the genes involved in root colonization. However, a complete picture of colonization must include how to enhance it, an understanding that is not currently available. Since root colonization is multifaceted (encompassing interactions with other microbes, the host, and abiotic soil conditions) it is expected that a diversity of microbial and plant genes will impact root colonization. To parse this complexity, we will use a functional metagenomics approach to screen for genes conferring improved colonization maize under three different nutrient conditions. This work will therefore advance our understanding of root colonization and our ability to identify microbes that exert beneficial effects for prolonged periods.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.

植物根部被数十亿称为细菌的微生物包围。 这些细菌帮助植物获取营养并生长。 由于细菌的重要性，许多人对开发含有细菌的肥料感兴趣，以帮助植物更好地生长。 然而，很明显，虽然一些细菌在添加到正在生长的植物中时可以帮助它们在人工实验室条件下生长，但在现实条件下几乎没有任何细菌可以帮助植物生长。 我们想了解为什么有些细菌能够帮助植物生长，而有些细菌却不能。 为此，我们将研究促生长细菌所具有的基因，并确定这些基因是否可以将非促生长细菌转化为促生长细菌。 这项工作将在玉米中进行，并将培养一名研究生。有益微生物可以极大地提高作物的性能，激发它们作为种子接种剂的使用。然而，外源微生物在田间竞争中常常处于劣势，这限制了它们的实用性，并揭示了我们对根部定植理解的根本差距。该提议的基本原理是，对于根部定殖最重要的基因在很大程度上是未知的。最近使用比较基因组学和敲除突变体的工作首次深入了解参与根定植的基因。然而，对殖民化的全面了解必须包括如何加强它，而目前尚无法理解这一点。由于根定植是多方面的（包括与其他微生物、宿主和非生物土壤条件的相互作用），预计微生物和植物基因的多样性将影响根定植。为了解析这种复杂性，我们将使用功能宏基因组学方法来筛选在三种不同营养条​​件下赋予玉米定殖改良的基因。因此，这项工作将增进我们对根部定植的理解，以及识别长期发挥有益作用的微生物的能力。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。