Development of biotechnological product containing methylotrophic bacteria for use in agriculture

Abstract

The use of microbial inoculants represents an effective strategy to achieve the necessary increase in agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner. Agricultural products using microorganism-based natural inoculants are formulated primarily from beneficial bacteria, and one of the most abundant types found in nature is methylotrophic bacteria. These bacteria, called Pink Pigmented Facultative Methylotrophic (PPFM), belongs mainly from the genus Methylobacterium, a group of over 50 aerobic gram-negative species capable of metabolizing single-carbon compounds such as methanol. PPFMs can live in almost any type of environment and have already been isolated from various terrestrial or aquatic plant groups, including algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms, demonstrating their great versatility. These methylotrophic bacteria can benefit plants in different ways, for example by producing phytohormones or even acting as biofertilizers by providing nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Some PPFM species may also benefit plants by fighting plant pathogens through the production of antimicrobial compounds or molecules capable of activating the plant's immune defense system. This work focuses on selecting PPFMs that present the best in vitro and in vivo performance in plant improvement and use them to generate a multifunctional inoculant with agricultural potential. The selection criteria for bacteria with biotechnological potential will be the production of IAA, nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, amylase production, siderophores production, ACC deaminase enzyme activity and phytopathogen growth inhibition. Among the bacteria with the best performance in in vitro tests, up to five isolates will be selected and inoculated in plants to evaluate possible beneficial effects related to growth induction, their role in biological control and resistance induction potential. Initially, in vivo tests will be directed to tomato plants and control of Fusarium wilt; however, due to the great versatility of these bacteria in plant colonization, the generated product may also be directed to other crops. Considering the versatility of these bacteria and their performance in benefiting plants in many ways, the generated product has great commercial potential as it can naturally control pathogens and increase crop growth and yield in a sustainable manner. (AU)