Location: Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-21220-181-004-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 25, 2017
End Date: Sep 24, 2022
Objective:
Screen and characterize soybean root endo-symbiotic bacteria for biocontrol potential.
(1) Isolate and purify soybean root nodule associated bacteria.
(2) In vivo screen nodule-associated bacteria against important soil borne fungal (Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii) and bacterial (Pseudomonus syringae, Xanthomonus campestris) pathogens of vegetables and ornamentals. The top twenty strains for fungal pathogens and top twenty strains for bacterial pathogens will be identified from three replicates of these screens.
(3) Forty selected strains will be tested in vivo in tomato and Arabidopsis seedlings using both soil and plant inoculation methods.
(4) Molecular identification of the selected forty strains will be carried out using PCR and cycle sequencing and bioinformatics pipelines.
Approach:
ARS will develop protocols for isolation and single colony purification of nodule-inhibiting bacterial isolates from legumes. The cooperator will be using the agency provided protocol to isolate bacteria from root nodules, screen for antagonism to soilborne fungal and bacterial pathogens of vegetables and ornamentals, carry out lab and greenhouse assays for biocontrol of plant pathogens, and molecularly characterize the best biocontrol agents. This information will be used by both parties to jointly develop tools necessary for experiments to identify biocontrol organisms.
