Development of a new biostimulant formula composed of novel Methylobacterium and crop nutrients

该项目通过开发一种植物生长促进剂提供了提高作物产量的潜力，该植物生长促进剂由精心挑选的、由有益细菌菌株产生的高价值生物化合物组成。我们的建议建立在我们对甲氧基洛巴氏菌的初步研究的有希望的结果的基础上，该菌产生独特的高水平的促进生长的激素，称为细胞分裂素(CKS)。它侧重于它们促进大豆生长和产量的能力，以及在有限供水条件下种植的四种豆科植物缓解干旱的负面影响。我们现在正在扩大这项研究的范围，以测试甲基杆菌产生其他类型的植物生长调节剂(GAS、ABA、IAA、JA、SA)的能力，并进一步研究这些共生菌株分泌的化合物促进植物生长的特性。第一次，我们将使用非靶向定量质谱学来表征不同的甲基洛巴氏菌菌株之间的主要代谢差异，并将它们与细菌产生CKS和其他生长调节剂相关联。具体地说，我们将比较细胞颗粒和微生物上清液中小质量代谢物的组成，并确定可能对寄主植物有益的最丰富的代谢物。此外，我们将研究暴露在负面环境因素(如营养缺乏、诱导干旱、盐度或低温)下的菌株代谢组的变化，以更好地了解甲氧基洛伯氏菌的作用模式。在下一步，我们将测试有价值的细菌化合物在添加由行业合作伙伴NutriAg有限公司提供的矿物质肥料后的稳定性。这是一种由宏元素和微量元素组成的专利成分，将应用于甲基乳杆菌的无细胞培养上清。该项目的最终目标是开发一种独特而稳定的配方，以促进细菌和矿物来源的植物生长化学物质，既高效又经济。总体而言，这项研究将有助于减少化肥的使用，增加加拿大可持续植物生产的规模，从而实现更高的产量、更高效的土地资源利用和市场扩张。

This project offers the potential of greater crop yield through the development of a plant growth enhancer, composed of carefully selected, high-value biological compounds produced by the beneficial bacterial strains. Our proposal builds on the promising results of our preliminary investigation of Methylobacterium which produce uniquely high levels of growth promoting hormones known as the cytokinins (CKs). It focused on their ability to promote growth and yield in soybean and to alleviate negative effects of drought in four legumes cultivated under limited water supply. We are now expanding the study to test the ability of Methylobacteria to produce other types of plant growth regulators (GAs, ABA, IAA, JA, SA) and further investigate plant growth promoting properties of chemical compounds secreted by these symbiotic strains. For the first time, we will characterize principal metabolic differences among different Methylobacterium strains with the use of untargeted quantitative mass spectrometry and correlate them to bacterial production of CKs and other growth regulators. Specifically, we will compare the composition of small mass metabolites in cell pellets and in microbial supernatants and identify the most abundant metabolites that may have beneficial effects on host plants. Additionally, we will investigate changes in the metabolome of strains exposed to the negative environmental factors (i.e. nutrient deficiency, induced drought, salinity or low temperature) to obtain better insight into Methylobacterium modes of action. In the next step, we will test the stability of the valuable bacterial compounds upon addition of mineral fertilizer supplied by the Industry Partner, NutriAg Ltd. This is a proprietary composition of macro- and microelements which will be applied to the Methylobacterium cell-free supernatants. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a unique and stable formula of plant growth promoting chemicals of bacterial and mineral origin, that will be both highly effective and economical to use. Overall, this research will help to reduce use of chemical fertilizers and increase the scale of sustainable plant production in Canada, resulting in greater yields, more efficient land resource use, and market expansion.