Beneficial microbes and microbial tools to assist Canadian agriculture

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This proposal is aimed at testing probiotic microbes and microbial-based diagnostic technologies to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides and nitrogen fertilizer in crop production. Similar to microbes that live inside the human intestine that help to digest milk, plants are inhabited by potentially beneficial microbes, referred to by plant scientists as endophytes. Endophytes are typically bacteria and fungi, and they can assist their host organisms to acquire nutrients, tolerate environmental stress or combat pathogens. We have successfully bioprospected for 250 endophytes from cereals and shown under indoor conditions that they can benefit Canadian corn and wheat (by suppressing Fusarium diseases). The first objective of this proposal is to test these potential probiotics under field conditions, as the first step towards commercialization. Global agbiotech companies have decided that such biologicals will be a major part of their growth strategy, and hence this proposal will help Canada to become a global leader in this job-creating sector. Second, we have engineered a microbe to act as a diagnostic tool (biosensor) with the goal of helping farmers to more effectively use nitrogen fertilizer, in order to improve farmer incomes and reduce environmental damage. This proposal will extend this laboratory test, which has been issued a US patent, into real world field conditions. Combined, this proposal will explore the use of beneficial microbes to assist Canadian grain farmers.