Understanding the contribution of the inherited microbiome to corn yield and immunity-suppressing vomitoxin

了解遗传微生物组对玉米产量和免疫抑制呕吐毒素的贡献

• 批准号: 550133-2020
• 负责人: Raizada, Manish
• 金额: $ 7.53万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=720685
• 关键词: Understanding; contribution; inherited; microbiome; corn

Corn farming in the 20th-Century was transformed by the discovery of hybrid vigour, the mysterious phenomenon wherein mating of two genetically-diverse inbreds causes dramatic yield boosts. This led to seed companies that employ Canadians. The potential of hybrid vigour has yet to be fully realized in corn, soy, wheat, other crops & livestock, because the underlying biological basis is incompletely understood --it remains the Holy Grail of genetics. One theory never before explored is that hybrid vigour may be partially caused by variation in the plant microbiome. We hypothesize that microbiomes may be variably inherited from parents through pollen/eggs into (hybrid) seeds. Thus, when two parents mate, two distinct/competing microbiomes are meeting each other for the first time (in seed), causing gain/loss of good bacteria. We propose to mate diverse inbreds together, profile offspring microbiomes, then correlate microbial inheritance with yield & Fusarium disease resistance. Fusarium caused 40% yield losses to corn in Ontario in 2018, due to its production of DON mycotoxin (vomitoxin), devastating farmer profits. Vomitoxin is heat-stable to 350C & shown to enter the food chain (e.g. kid's cereal) & hence it is regulated in Canada. Preventing vomitoxin from reaching vulnerable people may be critical in this era, because it suppresses human/animal immunity, reduces viral immunity, exacerbates viral bronchopneumonia & reduces vaccine effectiveness in animal models. With our partner, Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), short-term, we hope to identify one heritable microbial consortium that protects Canadian (Cdn) corn: increases grain yield by >5% & decreases vomitoxin by >10%. We also propose to contribute to a vomitoxin susceptibility diagnostic for new corn hybrids based on the presence/absence of anti-Fusarium microbes. This will improve Cdn corn exports & improve farmer profits by $100 million at this uncertain time, while ensuring safer supplies of grain for livestock, Cdn consumers & poor nations lacking fungicides. Long-term, this research could catalyze novel crop breeding, wherein breeders directly select for stable inheritance of good bacteria using microbial markers, leading to the next great leap in agriculture.

杂交活力的发现改变了 20 世纪的玉米种植业，这是一种神秘现象，其中两个基因多样化的近交系交配会导致产量大幅提高。这导致种子公司雇用加拿大人。玉米、大豆、小麦、其他作物和牲畜的杂交活力的潜力尚未完全实现，因为其潜在的生物学基础尚未完全了解——它仍然是遗传学的圣杯。一种以前从未探索过的理论是，杂种活力可能部分是由植物微生物组的变异引起的。我们假设微生物组可能通过花粉/卵从父母那里遗传到（杂交）种子。因此，当两个亲本交配时，两个不同/竞争的微生物组第一次相遇（在种子中），导致好细菌的获得/损失。我们建议将不同的近交系交配在一起，分析后代微生物组，然后将微生物遗传与产量和镰刀菌抗病性联系起来。镰刀菌在 2018 年造成安大略省玉米产量损失 40%，原因是它产生 DON 霉菌毒素（呕吐毒素），破坏了农民的利润。呕吐毒素在 350°C 下具有热稳定性，并且可以进入食物链（例如儿童麦片），因此在加拿大受到监管。在这个时代，防止呕吐毒素接触到易感人群可能至关重要，因为它会抑制人类/动物免疫力，降低病毒免疫力，加剧病毒性支气管肺炎并降低动物模型中的疫苗有效性。我们希望与我们的合作伙伴安大略省谷物农民 (GFO) 合作，在短期内找到一种可遗传的微生物群落来保护加拿大 (Cdn) 玉米：将谷物产量提高 > 5%，并将呕吐毒素降低 > 10%。我们还建议根据抗镰刀菌微生物的存在/不存在，为新型玉米杂交种的呕吐毒素敏感性诊断做出贡献。这将改善 Cdn 玉米出口，并在这个不确定的时期将农民利润提高 1 亿美元，同时确保为牲畜、Cdn 消费者和缺乏杀菌剂的贫穷国家提供更安全的粮食供应。从长远来看，这项研究可以催化新型作物育种，其中育种者利用微生物标记直接选择好细菌的稳定遗传，从而导致农业的下一次巨大飞跃。