Cannabis plant growth promotion using PGPR

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Many beneficial bacteria living in the rhizosphere of plants (i.e. the soil in close proximity to roots) canpromote plant growth. These organisms are known as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and maybelong to different taxonomical groups, including Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp. Some strains ofPseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp. can stimulate plant growth directly and/or indirectly by various mechanisms.Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp. are ideal candidates for replacing and/or reducing the use of chemicalfertilizers as they can be easily cultured and inoculated, and their production cost represents a reasonablealternative to chemical fertilizer applications. Although numerous strains of Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp.have been identified as potential PGPR in different systems, combinations of Pseudomonas sp./Bacillus sp.strains that can synergistically impact on plant growth have not been widely studied. Over the years, myresearch team has isolated and characterized numerous strains of Pseudomonas sp. for their plant growthpromoting capacities. In parallel, Biotechnology Ulysse has developed a large expertise in isolating andcharacterizing Bacillus sp. strains for plant growth promotion. Therefore, our expertise is complimentary andcan lead to the development of microbial consortia that display superior synergistic plant growth promotingactivity. Biotechnologies Ulysse is seeking help to be among the first Canadian companies able tocommercialize environmentally-friendly microbial-based fertilizers specifically tailored to the Cannabisindustry. Therefore, in this project, a collection of 60 different Pseudomonas sp strains isolated in ourlaboratory will be tested in combination with two Bacillus sp. strains (owned by Biotechnologies Ulysse) fortheir capacity at promoting Cannabis growth and productivity. More specifically, the aims are to: 1) Identify themost optimal Pseudomonas sp./Bacillus sp. combination capable of promoting Cannabis plant growth; and 2)Develop specific DNA molecular markers for these organisms allowing to detect and quantify their populationdynamics under soil and plant conditions using qPCR assays.