A New Approach to Modify Plant Microbiomes and Traits by Introducing Beneficial Bacteria at Flowering into Progeny Seeds.
The microbial component of healthy seeds - the seed microbiome - appears to be inherited between plant generations and can dynamically influence germination, plant performance, and survival. As such, methods to optimize the seed microbiomes of major crops could have far-reaching implications for plant breeding and crop improvement to enhance agricultural food, feed, and fiber production. Here, we describe a new approach to modulate seed microbiomes of elite crop seed embryos and concomitantly design the traits to be mediated by seed microbiomes. Specifically, we discovered that by introducing the endophyteParaburkholderia phytofirmansPsJN to the flowers of parent plants we could drive its inclusion in progeny seed microbiomes, thereby inducing vertical inheritance to the offspring generation. We demonstrated the introduction of PsJN to seeds of monocot and dicot plant species and the consequential modifications to seed microbiome composition and growth traits in wheat, illustrating the potential role of novel seed-based microbiomes in determining plant traits.
Bioresources, Center for Health & Bioresources, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Tulln, Austria.
Birgit
B
Mitter
Bioresources, Center for Health & Bioresources, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Tulln, Austria.
Nikolaus
N
Pfaffenbichler
Indigo Agriculture, Charlestown MA, USA.
Richard
R
Flavell
Bioresources, Center for Health & Bioresources, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Tulln, Austria.
Stéphane
S
Compant
Bioresources, Center for Health & Bioresources, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Tulln, Austria.
Livio
L
Antonielli
Bioresources, Center for Health & Bioresources, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Tulln, Austria.
Alexandra
A
Petric
Bioresources, Center for Health & Bioresources, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Tulln, Austria.
Teresa
T
Berninger
Bioresources, Center for Health & Bioresources, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Tulln, Austria.
Muhammad
M
Naveed
Bioresources, Center for Health & Bioresources, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Tulln, Austria.
Raheleh
R
Sheibani-Tezerji
Indigo Agriculture, Charlestown MA, USA.
Geoffrey
G
von Maltzahn
Bioresources, Center for Health & Bioresources, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH Tulln, Austria.
Angela
A
Sessitsch
EndoSeed; Paraburkholderia phytofirmans PsJN; application technology; endophyte; flowers; microbiome; seed; strain delivery