The taxonomic and transcriptional profile of the holobiont shedding light on the role and dynamics of endophytic populations during plant development

• Grant number: 23/18239-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Fabiana Fantinatti Garboggini
• Grantee: Fabiana Fantinatti Garboggini
• Host Institution: Centro Pluridisciplinar de Pesquisas Químicas, Biológicas e Agrícolas (CPQBA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Paulínia , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Lilia Costa Carvalhais ; Marcos Nopper Alves ; Pedro Henrique Riboldi Monteiro
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/22068-0 - Vegetative micropropagation of Passiflora incarnata to evaluate the synthetic microbial community capable of positively influencing plant growth., BP.TT

Abstract

Endophytic microbiome assembly can be explained by ecological processes occurring during the plant development, such as dispersion, drift, selection, and diversification. The plant's physiology is influenced by biotic and abiotic factors and can therefore vary substantially throughout its life cycle. In turn, these variations consequently modify the structure and functions of the endophytic communities, since specific endophytic groups with a critical role at a given development stage may be favored. Considering the above, this study aims to test the hypothesis that the endophytic microbiome assembly and functioning can be shaped by transcriptional variations occurring during the plant development. For this, we will evaluate the functional profile of P. incarnata and their associated endophytic populations by multi-species RNA-seq. In addition, the endophytic microbiome will be characterized by a metagenomic approach for determining its structure and composition in each host developmental stage. This investigation will also include the design and introduction of a synthetic bacterial community capable of positively influencing P. incarnata growth. The introduction of a simplified community into a gnotobiotic plant system will allow to disentangle processes governing the endophytic microbiome assembly in the earliest stages of the host development. The mechanistic understanding of plant microbiome assembly would allow the incorporation of eco-evolutionary processes in the development of biotechnological applications for agriculture systems. (AU)