Location: Grain Legume Genetics Physiology Research
Project Number: 2090-21220-003-008-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2026
End Date: Nov 30, 2027
Objective:
The objectives of this cooperative research agreement are to characterize the soil “microbiome” of dry pea and identify micro-organisms to manage fertility and control plant disease.
Approach:
Plant materials will include USDA breeding lines and popular commercial pea varieties that will be grown at Washington State University (WSU) Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center (IAREC) in Prosser, WA and WSU Spillman Agronomy Farm, in Pullman, WA. Soil and plants materials will be sampled before, during, and after the growing season. Standard and modified microbiological techniques will be used to isolate and identify different micro-organisms that collectively comprise the “microbiome”. Nucleic acid will be isolated from purified micro-organisms, soil and plant tissues, amplified as needed, and sequenced using modern NextGen sequencing platforms. Selected isolates will be tested using plate-assays with detached leaves or pure cultures of plant pathogens, and with whole-plant assays conducted in growth chamber or greenhouse environments. Nucleic acid sequence data will be analyzed using bioinformatic pipelines to estimate species diversity and richness of the pea microbiome and identify genes and genomic regions associated with fertility management, disease control and pathogen virulence.