Biochemical and physiological characterization of bacteria isolated from drought-tolerant common bean rhizosphere

• Grant number: 24/13547-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Lucas William Mendes
• Grantee: Lara de Almeida Losovoi
• Supervisor: Victor J Carrion Bravo
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad de Málaga (UMA), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/00552-8 - Bioprospecting of the rhizosphere microbiome of drought-tolerant beans for the mitigation of water stress in common bean ((Phaseolus vulgaris L.), BP.MS

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges faced by global agricultural production lies in managing waterstress, particularly due to the negative impact of drought on the world's major agricultural regions,resulting in significant economic and social damages. In both natural and agricultural environments, plants simultaneously interact with a range of microorganisms, some beneficial and others pathogenic, exerting direct and indirect influences on their physiology and development. The microbial community in the rhizosphere comprises a wide variety of organisms that playcrucial roles in these interactions. Considering that plants under (a)biotic stresses select a specific microbial community in their rhizosphere that helps mitigate the effects of these stresses, this project aims to characterize bacteria with the potential to promote plant health and growth under drought conditions, isolated from the rhizosphere of drought-tolerant common bean plants after water deficiency experiments. Microbiological and molecular techniques, such as nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, ACC deaminase production tests, and genomic sequencing and annotation, will be employed aiming to investigate their physiological traits, functional profiles, and biotechnological potential. These experiments will also correlate to assays involving plant microbes to certify their growth-promoting capabilities in vivo, thus encompassing microbiology, molecular biology, physiology, and plant nutrition. This project is expected tocharacterize beneficial bacterial strains that positively impact the growth and development of plants under water-stress conditions, potentially serving as agricultural inoculants to promote growth and drought tolerance in various cultivars.