Developing climate change resilient corn and wheat to combat Fusarium disease by enhancing the plant microbiome

开发适应气候变化的玉米和小麦，通过增强植物微生物群来对抗镰刀菌病

• 批准号: 521124-2018
• 负责人: Raizada, Manish
• 金额: $ 3.6万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Strategic Projects - Group
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=697848
• 关键词: Developing; climate; change; resilient; corn

Climate change is predicted to increase human/livestock-damaging fungal pathogens including Fusarium graminearum in Canadian corn and wheat. F. graminearum enters corn through styles (silks)-the threads that emerge at the tips of corn cobs. Silks are channels that sperm use to fertilize eggs, giving rise to grain. We propose to discover anti-Fusarium probiotics that naturally inhabit corn silks. Similar to humans, plants are inhabited and coated by probiotics. Previously, we demonstrated that plant cells, which are immobilized by cell walls, have maintained probiotics (endophytes) that are mobile to act similar to human immunity cells to seek-and-destroy pathogens. However, scientists have overlooked probiotics in silks/styles. We have two strategies to use this potential natural resource. First, we propose to discover and test probiotic sprays that growers can apply onto silks (in corn), and which may be transferable to wheat grain heads, when disease outbreaks occur nearby to provide rapid, real-time protection. Specifically, building upon recent discoveries by our team, we propose to culture and test silk probiotics from diverse corn genotypes from across the world that have been reported to have partial resistance to Fusarium. In a parallel strategy, we will sample the DNA of silks of corn that are partially resistant to Fusarium to uncover complex microbial sub-communities (sub-microbiomes) that crop breeders can later select to prevent climate change associated disease outbreaks. These probiotic strategies may also protect Canadian growers against new pathogens that may invade silks due to climate change, since other devastating fungal pathogens in warmer climates (e.g. Latin America, Africa) already enter corn grain through the silks. Our probiotics should be transferable to these regions, allowing our research to also benefit subsistence farmers who are the most vulnerable to climate change. This project is a research collaboration between academic, government and private sector scientists, with the goals of catalyzing investment for commercialization, and training young scientists for the growing microbiome sector.

预计气候变化将增加加拿大玉米和小麦中对人类/牲畜造成损害的真菌病原体，包括禾谷镰刀菌。禾谷镰刀菌通过花柱（玉米穗子顶端出现的丝）进入玉米。丝是精子用来使卵子受精、产生谷物的通道。我们建议发现天然存在于玉米须中的抗镰刀菌益生菌。与人类类似，植物也被益生菌所栖息和覆盖。此前，我们证明，被细胞壁固定的植物细胞维持着可移动的益生菌（内生菌），其作用类似于人类免疫细胞来寻找并消灭病原体。然而，科学家们却忽视了丝绸/款式中的益生菌。我们有两种策略来利用这种潜在的自然资源。首先，我们建议发现和测试益生菌喷雾剂，种植者可以将其喷洒在玉米穗上，并且当附近发生疾病爆发时，可以将其转移到小麦籽粒上，以提供快速、实时的保护。 具体来说，根据我们团队最近的发现，我们建议培养和测试来自世界各地不同玉米基因型的丝益生菌，据报道这些玉米基因型对镰刀菌具有部分抗性。在一个平行的策略中，我们将对镰刀菌具有部分抗性的玉米丝的 DNA 进行采样，以揭示复杂的微生物亚群落（亚微生物组），作物育种者随后可以选择这些亚群落来预防与气候变化相关的疾病爆发。这些益生菌策略还可以保护加拿大种植者免受因气候变化而可能侵入蚕丝的新病原体的侵害，因为在温暖气候（例如拉丁美洲、非洲）中其他破坏性真菌病原体已经通过蚕丝进入玉米粒。我们的益生菌应该可以转移到这些地区，使我们的研究也能够惠及最容易受到气候变化影响的自给农民。该项目是学术界、政府和私营部门科学家之间的研究合作，其目标是促进商业化投资，并为不断发展的微生物组领域培训年轻科学家。