SBIR Phase I: A Microbial Inoculant for the Degradation and Recycling of Hemp Waste into a Nutrient-Rich Fertilizer

SBIR 第一阶段：用于将大麻废物降解和回收成营养丰富的肥料的微生物接种剂

• 批准号: 2014792
• 负责人: Victoria Holden
• 金额: $ 22.49万
• 依托单位: FULL CIRCLE MICROBES, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-06-01 至 2021-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2014792&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Microbial; Inoculant; Degradation

The broader impact/commercial potential of this SBIR Phase I Project is to increase the advance a technology to transform leftover plant matter into a fertilizer to support the agricultural industry. The proposed project will develop a microbial inoculant that will rapidly and efficiently transform post-harvest leftover plant matter into a nutrient-rich bioavailable fertilizer used to nourish future crops, particularly in the emerging hemp industry. The findings from this research project are potentially applicable to the degradation of other common agricultural crops, such as corn, and the conversion of feedstock into biofuels. The technology will add value to farms, save farmers money, and prevent further environmental harm through the production and use of synthetic fertilizer. This SBIR Phase I project advances a cooperative, synthetic microbial inoculant that degrades lignin, a polymer in hemp that is highly resistant to degradation, into a nutrient-rich fertilizer that increases hemp yield. This innovation will be achieved by developing and performing assays that quantify the efficiency with which microbes degrade lignin and produce peroxidases, the family of enzymes that degrade lignin. After identifying microbes with lignin-degrading capabilities, these microbes will be incorporated into a plant growth promoting co-culture, at which point the inoculant will be optimized to achieve the maximum lignin degradation efficiency at a wide range of temperatures and conditions. This will be achieved through lab-scale adaptation, i.e. a natural forced microbial evolution. Finally, the output of the optimized microbial inoculant will be evaluated for its ability to increase hemp seed germination and decrease the harmful effects of plant pathogens. These characteristics will be examined using seed germination assays and microbial plate competition assays.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该SBIR I期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是，提高了将剩余植物物质转化为肥料的技术，以支持农业。拟议的项目将开发一种微生物接种剂，将迅速有效地将剩余的植物物质转化为一种营养丰富的生物利用肥料，用于滋养未来的作物，尤其是在新兴的大麻行业中。该研究项目的发现可能适用于其他常见农作物（例如玉米）的降解以及原料转化为生物燃料。 该技术将为农场增加价值，为农民节省资金，并通过生产和使用合成肥料来防止进一步的环境伤害。该SBIR I期项目将一种合作的合成微生物接种剂推进，该接种剂降解了木质素，木质素是一种高度耐降解的大麻中的聚合物，成为富含营养的肥料，从而增加了大麻产量。这项创新将通过开发和执行测定法来量化微生物降解木质素并产生过氧化物酶的效率，该酶（降解木质素的酶家族）。在识别具有木质素降解能力的微生物之后，这些微生物将纳入植物生长促进共培养物中，此时，将对接种剂进行优化，以在广泛的温度和条件下实现最大木质素降解效率。这将通过实验室规模的适应来实现，即自然强制微生物进化。最后，将评估优化的微生物接种剂的输出，以增加大麻种子发芽并减少植物病原体的有害作用的能力。这些特征将使用种子发芽测定和微生物板竞赛测定法对这些特征进行检查。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估标准来评估，被视为值得支持。