Researchers at the University of Moncton have isolated beneficial bacteria that will ultimately provide alternative management solutions to growers. These organisms by their presence promote the growth of the plant or can help protect the plant from disease.
“We are interested in microorganisms that live in close proximity of plants in the soil, called the rhizosphere,” explains Dr Martin Filion, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Moncton, New Brunswick. “This is the first few millimeters of soil that stick to plant roots, and is where interactions occur between plants and microorganisms that dictate how that plant will perform under agriculture conditions. Our goal is to isolate microorganisms that already live in the rhizosphere of plants and find ones that are genetically fit to do the job we are looking for, in particular the development of biopesticides and biofertilizers.”
Filion and his research team have identified some beneficial bacterial microorganisms that have the potential to become biopesticides as an alternative or a complement to the use of chemical pesticides to control plant diseases. “We try to isolate bacteria that produce certain antimicrobial compounds, and once reinoculated into the rhizosphere of plants will produce these compounds in sufficient amounts to reduce the population of plant pathogens,” explains Filion. “These compounds can also help activate metabolic pathways similar to an immune response in humans and may lead to improved protection in the plant as well.”
Of particular interest are two diseases affecting Solanaceous plants, potato and tomato, that are very important diseases for growers, and for which there are currently no efficient commercial control options. Common scab of potato and bacterial canker of tomato are both serious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria. Filion’s research team have identified beneficial bacteria that can help these plants fight pathogenic bacteria and the diseases they cause.
“These microorganisms must be capable of sustaining themselves in the rhizosphere and we are also looking at genetic determinants that will help them compete with other organisms in the rhizosphere,” says Filion. “We are looking at trying to develop a seed coating technology that would be applied once and then work throughout the growing season. However, we are not yet at the commercial stage with these microorganisms, but have identified some very promising bacterial isolates. The fact that the microorganisms have been isolated from local Atlantic soils should also make the process of registration a bit easier for use in Atlantic Canada and also for the rest of the country.”
A second area of interest is in the development of biofertilizers to help promote plant growth. Filion started working with Technology Crops International, a company who approached him about five years ago to see if his research could help improve the productivity of a new crop under development. “The company is particularly interested in oil producing crops and has identified a new plant that is capable of producing omega-3 fatty acids similar to the ones found in marine sources,” explains Filion. “We are working on developing a bacterial inoculant that could improve the productivity of the plant, specifically to improve its lipid metabolism and help improve the bioaccumulation of oils.”
Filion’s research team has managed to isolate a microorganism that has been able to increase the accumulation of omega-3 in that particular plant species by up to 40% under field conditions. “This new technology to promote growth and accumulate more lipids in the plant is a very interesting approach,” says Filion. “It makes economic sense to produce this microorganism at a commercial scale to be used by farmers as a seed coating inoculant.”
The University of Moncton has a patent pending on one particular bacterial strain for this crop, and Filion plans to continue the partnership with the company and to make the technology available through a licensing agreement to the company. The company expects to be commercially producing this new plant within two years, and hopefully the inoculant will be available at the same time.
Along with the development of biopesticides and biofertilizers, Filion is also working on the development of molecular tools to study rhizospheric interactions. The development of these novel tools will help understand rhizospheric interactions from a functional and ecological perspective. “We are developing molecular tracking markers that will enable farmers or regulators to determine for example the amount of a specific bacterial strain in the soil, whether it is persisting or disappearing in the field,” explains Filion. “This is something we are working on for both biopesticides and biofertilizers.”
Filion and his research team are continuing to work on these different areas and are trying to diversify the technology platform. They are looking to expand to other oilseed crops such as soybean and other new crops. Filion has received funding for projects from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, the Atlantic Innovation Fund, and other industry and government funds.
“With no commercial solutions currently available to control some of the key bacterial diseases in potatoes and tomatoes, our research hopes to isolate antimicrobial microorganisms as biopesticides to protect against diseases,” says Dr. Martin Filion. “These biopesticides could replace or work in addition to chemical pesticides.”
Contact:
Dr. Martin Filion
Ph: 506-858-4329
E-mail: [email protected]a