The ecological role of protein secretion systems from Pantoea agglomerans 33.1 in the soil bacterial community modulation

• Grant number: 22/07666-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Effective date (Start): September 30, 2022
• Effective date (End): November 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Maria Carolina Quecine Verdi
• Grantee: Aline Aparecida Oliveira Ferreira
• Supervisor: Maria Leticia Bonatelli
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Helmholtz Association, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/04834-0 - Unraveling the role of protein secretion systems in plant growth promotion by Pantoea agglomerans 33.1, BP.MS

Abstract

In prokaryotic cells, the transport of proteins is often mediated by Proteins Secretion Systems (PSSs). These systems are vital for prokaryotes because they contribute to their protection, interaction with other organisms, and with the manipulation of the environment. Despite the interest in the role of PSSs in pathogenicity, attention to how these systems can contribute to plant growth and modulate microbial communities is increasing. And one of the most common approaches to access microbial communities is metataxonomic based on marker genes sequencing. Pantoea agglomerans 33.1 is a well-known plant growth-promoter bacterium for sugarcane, and the project developed in Brazil, supported by FAPESP (Grant number: 2021/04834-0), intends to study the role of the PPSs from 33.1 in plant growth-promotion and bacterial soil community modulation, through PPSs genes knockout. Considering the possible interaction between PSSs, plant growth-promotion and the soil native microorganisms, this BEPE proposal aims to evaluate the modulation of the bacterial soil community by the presence of 33.1 wild type and its mutants for genes of secretion systems, through metataxonomic of the 16S rRNA gene. The obtained results will allow to observe how the soil bacterial community behaves in the presence or absence of some PPSs of 33.1, and how this correlate with the community assembly in plant growth-promotion. This research will contribute to the general knowledge about the PPSs in plant growth-promotion, and with the microbial community. (AU)