Opportunities and Challenges of Ag Biologicals

Jacob Parnell, Novozymes

Jan 18, 2019

Earth Formed

Bacteria fossils 3.8

Algae0.75

Moss0.45Ferns0.35Conifers0.25Flowers0.15

FirstEukaryotes1.5

Humans0.0001Today

Impressive Evolutionary History of Microbes

Challenges:

1. Efficacy

2. Versatility

3. Practicality

4. Delivery

5. Persistence

6. Safety

npr.org

100,000,000,000,000,000

Astronomical Numbers

astronomy.com

16,100,000,000,000

Astronomical Numbers

Challenges:

1. Efficacy

2. Versatility

3. Practicality

4. Delivery

5. Persistence

6. Safety

independent.co.uk

425,000,000,0001,160,000,000

Astronomical Numbers

Lined up end to end, they would stretch some 10 billion light-years—literally from here to the edge of the visible universe.

Jocelyn Rice- Discover Magazinehttp://discovermagazine.com/2008/dec/28-20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-bacteria

santabanta.com

Astronomical Numbers

Ice Cores

Extreme Salt

Extreme Heat

Sulfuric Acid

Miles Above

Miles Below

Adapted to Every Environment

Est n

umbe

r of S

peci

es o

n Ea

rthAmazing Diversity of Microbes

Ali Miller RD

“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.”

-Theodosius Dobzhansky

Role of microbiome in health…

Infectious DiseaseDiabetesAllergiesObesityAsthmaCardiovascular DiseaseMental IllnessAutismCancerAcneUlcers….

www.fireboxmedia.com

Why are Ag Biologicals so Exciting?

1. Microbes have been around for a long time

2. They are ABUNDANT

3. They are everywhere

4. They are diverse

5. All plants evolved in an environment teeming with microbes (co-evolved)

6. Microbes are linked to plant health (sustainable)

Efficacy

Ecological interactions between microbes, soil, plant…

Scaling production leads to differences in the microbe.

Versatility (Ecological trade-offs)

Effective during specific plant growth stages

Associates only with specific parts of the plant

Effective, but narrow host range

Practical

Delivery

Ag Biologicals need to survive suboptimal conditions (Stability)

Application of the microbes in the field

Persistence

Trade-off of specificity and persistence

Can they occupy a niche or colonize?

#

Experimental Design99

No Plant

1e+1

1e+2

1e+3

1e+4

1e+5

1e+6

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Days post emergence

No Plant SoilBaseline

Threshold of Detection

*Harvest

• Soybean seeds treated with Brady > untreated soybean seeds.

• Brady is only enriched in the rhizosphere of soybean plants.

• Brady decreases dramatically with the removal of the plant.

0.0e+0

2.5e+3

5.0e+3

7.5e+3

1.0e+4

Bulk DBS5 Bulk Untreated Rhizo DBS5 Rhizo Untreated

Treatment

Average Colonization levelsOver experimental time course

A

B

CC

N = 100, SE bars, different letters indicate statistically significant differences at p < 0.05 level according to Wilcoxon non-parametric test

N = 12 per time point, SE bars, * indicates amplification above background level.

Environmental Fate of Penicillium (qPCR)

1- Treated seed has significantly more P. bilaii2- Can detect P. bilaii in the rhizosphere until harvest3- No detection of P. bilaii in treated bulk soil (doesn’t migrate)4- No detection of P. bilaii after harvest (needs plant to survive)

Day 10 Day 36 Day 78

Influence of Bradyrhizobium on native community

Significant difference in treated vs untreated early, but any difference is gone by 11 weeks

Untreated Bulk SoilUSDA16 Bulk SoilUntreated RhizosphereUSDA16 Rhizosphere

Distance = Bray Curtis, Bootstrap = 1000, error bars = 95% C.I.

Influence of Bradyrhizobium on native community

PLANT EFFECT?

INO

CU

LAN

T EF

FEC

T?

DAY

10

DAY

36

DAY

78

Greatest variation between plant vs bulk soil.

Distance = Bray Curtis, Bootstrap = 1000, error bars = 95% C.I.

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