Bioprospecting of soil microbes from NE region for acid tolerance genes

The following are the objectives of the programme:

Scientific Team:

Dr. Madhumita Barooah, Dr. Robin Chandra Boro

Advisors: Dr. A. Kumar, Dr. M. V. Deshpande

Objectives:

• Functional validation of the differentially expressed acid tolerance genes (from Phase I)

• Study the growth promotion and abiotic stress (acid and associated stress-Al, Fe) alleviation ability of the acid and Al tolerant native bacterial isolates (characterized in the phase I of the project) on crop plants under those stress conditions

• Decipher the cross-talk between the bacterial isolates and the plant during acidic and its associated stress condition.

Salient Achievements:

• Role of proline in conferring acid tolerance in soil bacteria B. megaterium was established for the first time

• A hypothetical protein from Cupin superfamily provides acid-tolerance in B. amyloliquefaciens by promoting exopolysaccharide production​ (Deka et al., 2019, Molecular Biology Reports)

• Bacillus megaterium, B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens and Microbacterium testaceum ameliorate acid and associated stresses (Al- Fe phytotoxicity)​

• Seed biopriming with native acid-tolerant bioinoculants improved overall plant growth and yield in rice and lentil

Expected Outputs:

• Elucidated mechanisms of acid- and associated stress tolerance including their efficiency in promoting plant growth

• Potential acid tolerance genes from microbes for future crop improvement

• Application of consortium bioformulations to enhance crop productivity