Ricerca LaboratoriLAGEResearch interestsGenomics of plant-microbe interactionsMicro4Legumes

Micro4Legumes

Objectives

Develop Synthetic Communities (SynComms) composed by symbiotic nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and nonsymbiotic endophytes with plant-growth promotion activities (auxin production, nitrogen-fixation) for improving growth and resistance of alfalfa to drought conditions

Partners

IBBR-CNR, Naples (Italy)

University of Palermo, Italy)

Activities

WP1 SynComms constitution

1.1 Strain selection

1.2 Testing physiological features of single strains and consorzia

1.3 Genome sequencing and annotation of strains

1.4 Pilot trials of inoculation in vitro

WP2 Efficacy of SynComms

2.1 Set-up of the greenhouse experiment

2.2 Growth evaluation

2.3 Agronomic analyses and yield evaluation

2.4 Identification of the optimal combination of SynComm-plant variety and effect on soil microbiome

WP3 Coordination and Dissemination

3.1 Coordination

3.2 Dissemination

Dissemination (some of the activities done)

Interviews for local radio broadcast Controradio 20.11.2020: Bright - Notte della ricerca

Round table chat during Bright 2020: Youtube channel UniFI

Symposium at "Accademia dei Georgofili" (Evento Georgofili Leguminose e Agricoltura Sostenibile )

Fascination of Plants Day 2022 (21 May 2022) at the Botanical Garden of Portici (Naples). Here the pdf of the event and the poster

Final event at Colle Sannita at the Farms. Here the pdf of the program

Key publications

1. diCenzo, G.C., et al. (2020) Genome-scale metabolic reconstruction of the symbiosis between a leguminous plant and a nitrogen-fixing bacterium.Nature Communications 11, Article number: 2574
2. Bianco C., et al. (2021) Endophytes from African rice (Oryza glaberrima L.) efficiently colonize Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) stimulating the activity of its antioxidant enzymes and increasing the content of nitrogen, carbon, and chlorophyll. Microorganisms 9: 1714
3. Cangioli L., et al. (2022) Scent of a Symbiont: The Personalized Genetic Relationships of Rhizobium—Plant Interaction. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 23(6), 3358
4. Kuzmanovic N., et al. (2022) Taxonomy of Rhizobiaceae revisited: proposal of a new framework for genus delimitation. Int J. Syst Evol Microbiol 72:005243
5. García-Tomsig N.I., et al. (2022) Pervasive RNA Regulation of Metabolism Enhances the Root Colonization Ability of Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiotic α-Rhizobia. mBio 13:e03576-21
6. Mapelli F., et al. (2022) Bacterial culturing is crucial to boost sustainable agriculture. Trends in Microbiology. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2022.10.005
7. Fagorzi C., and Mengoni A. (2022) Endophytes: Improving Plant Performance. Microorganisms 10(9), 1777
8. Vaccaro F., et al. (2022) Synthetic plant microbiota challenges in nonmodel species. Trends in Microbiology doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2022.06.006
9. Fagorzi C., et al. (2023) When biodiversity preservation meets biotechnology: the challenge of developing synthetic microbiota for resilient sustainable crop production. J Sustain Agric Environ. 2(1): 5-15.