Community benefit: Microbial consortia that stimulate plant growth

There is a growing awareness of the role of microbes in the functioning of higher organisms. The human microbiome has now been shown to play key roles in health and physiology. Similarly, plants have had microbes, mycorrhizal fungi for example, associated with their roots since they colonized the land. It is becoming clear that there is a community of rhizobacteria that is regularly associated with plant roots and plays an important role in how plants deal with a range of environmental challenges. Inocucor Technologies has developed a consortium of microbes that improve plant performance. Preliminary results from the Smith laboratory at McGill University indicate that this consortium can stimulate aspects of plant growth. Proposed is research to further investigate the mechanisms and applications of this consortium. For plant growth stimulation and plant pathogen control we will determine the effects of the overall consortium and the individual strains that it is comprised of, with regard to promotion of crop plant growth and crop pathogen control, under a range of simulated environmental conditions, and for strains of interest, attempt to isolate compounds they might be producing that cause the plant growth stimulation.

Faculty Supervisor:

Donald Smith

Student:

Partner:

Inocucor Technologies Inc

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

McGill University

Program: