PIF2024 - Bioestimulantes de origen microbiano: strategia sostenible para mejorar el rendimiento de los cultivos y reducir el empleo de fertilizantes nitrogenados (PID2023-149449OB-I00)

The objective of this project is to help efforts to develop new sustainable and environmentally friendly biotechnological strategies for improving crops’ yields under low nitrogen availability in a changing climate by using biostimulants derived from microbes. We will study the extent to which soil application of exudates obtained from P. aurantiogriseum can improve root development, N acquisition and assimilation (NAE), and yield of an important agronomic crop (tomato) cultured in N-deficient soils. In addition, we will generate tomato plants with improved NAE by increasing the expression of genes involved in root architecture and/or N assimilation whose expression is influenced by VCs emitted by P. aurantiogriseum. Use of massive data acquisition technologies will allow us to acquire a holistic view and broaden our knowledge of the biochemical and molecular mechanisms triggered in plants by soil-applied microbial compounds during ‘beneficial’ plant-pathogen interactions. Nowadays, there is a scarce number of methods to evaluate the biostimulant potential of an extract. In this proposal, we also will design engineering genetically encoded plant biosensors to be used by the biostimulant industry. The generated knowledge is expected to strengthen and facilitate the sustainable and eco-friendly commercialization of microbial-based biostimulants to improve plant productivity and quality under N-deficiency.