Developing climate change resilient corn and wheat to combat Fusarium disease by enhancing the plant microbiome**

开发适应气候变化的玉米和小麦，通过增强植物微生物群来对抗镰刀菌病**

• 批准号: 521124-2018
• 负责人: Raizada, Manish
• 金额: $ 10.1万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Strategic Projects - Group
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=662918
• 关键词: Developing; climate; change; resilient; corn

Climate change is predicted to increase human/livestock-damaging fungal pathogens including Fusarium graminearum in Canadian corn and wheat. F. graminearum enters corn through styles (silks)-the threads that emerge at the tips of corn cobs. Silks are channels that sperm use to fertilize eggs, giving rise to grain. We propose to discover anti-Fusarium probiotics that naturally inhabit corn silks. Similar to humans, plants are inhabited and coated by probiotics. Previously, we demonstrated that plant cells, which are immobilized by cell walls, have maintained probiotics (endophytes) that are mobile to act similar to human immunity cells to seek-and-destroy pathogens. However, scientists have overlooked probiotics in silks/styles. We have two strategies to use this potential natural resource. First, we propose to discover and test probiotic sprays that growers can apply onto silks (in corn), and which may be transferable to wheat grain heads, when disease outbreaks occur nearby to provide rapid, real-time protection. Specifically, building upon recent discoveries by our team, we propose to culture and test silk probiotics from diverse corn genotypes from across the world that have been reported to have partial resistance to Fusarium. In a parallel strategy, we will sample the DNA of silks of corn that are partially resistant to Fusarium to uncover complex microbial sub-communities (sub-microbiomes) that crop breeders can later select to prevent climate change associated disease outbreaks. These probiotic strategies may also protect Canadian growers against new pathogens that may invade silks due to climate change, since other devastating fungal pathogens in warmer climates (e.g. Latin America, Africa) already enter corn grain through the silks. Our probiotics should be transferable to these regions, allowing our research to also benefit subsistence farmers who are the most vulnerable to climate change. This project is a research collaboration between academic, government and private sector scientists, with the goals of catalyzing investment for commercialization, and training young scientists for the growing microbiome sector.********

气候变化预计将增加对人/牲畜有害的真菌病原体，包括加拿大玉米和小麦中的禾谷镰刀菌。禾谷镰刀菌通过花柱(丝)进入玉米，花柱(丝)是玉米棒顶端出现的丝线。蚕丝是精子用来使卵子受精的通道，从而产生谷物。我们计划发现天然存在于玉米丝中的抗镰刀菌益生菌。与人类类似，植物也有益生菌栖息和包裹。此前，我们证明了被细胞壁固定的植物细胞保持着可移动的益生菌(内生菌)，其作用类似于人类免疫细胞来寻找和摧毁病原体。然而，科学家们忽视了丝绸/款式中的益生菌。我们有两种策略来利用这种潜在的自然资源。首先，我们建议发现和测试益生菌喷雾剂，种植者可以将其应用于蚕丝(在玉米中)，并且当附近发生疾病时，可以将其转移到小麦籽粒上，以提供快速、实时的保护。具体地说，根据我们团队最近的发现，我们建议培养和测试来自世界各地的不同玉米基因型的丝质益生菌，据报道，这些玉米对镰刀菌具有部分抗性。在一个平行的战略中，我们将对部分对镰刀菌具有抗性的玉米的丝质DNA进行采样，以揭示复杂的微生物亚群落(亚微生物群)，作物育种者稍后可以选择这些亚微生物群落来防止气候变化相关疾病的爆发。这些益生菌策略还可能保护加拿大种植者免受可能由于气候变化而入侵丝绸的新病原体的影响，因为在较温暖的气候(例如拉丁美洲、非洲)中，其他毁灭性的真菌病原体已经通过丝绸进入玉米粒。我们的益生菌应该可以转移到这些地区，使我们的研究也能使最容易受到气候变化影响的自给自足的农民受益。该项目是学术、政府和私营部门科学家之间的研究合作，目标是促进投资以实现商业化，并为不断增长的微生物群部门培养年轻科学家。