Research Triangle Park, NC, July 11, 2018 -
Results from an AgBiome research partnership has been published in Cell Host and Microbe today for their scientific collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. The paper, which is titled “Modular traits of the Rhizobiales root microbiota and their evolutionary relationship with symbiotic rhizobia,” reports research conducted by Dr. Ruben Garrido-Oter and collaborators in the laboratory of Paul Schulze-Lefert. By taking advantage of the unique opportunity represented by AgBiome’s extensive proprietary microbe collection, Dr. Garrido-Oter was able to analyze over one thousand microbial genomes and contribute important fundamental observations about microbial interactions with plants.
“At AgBiome, we are deeply curious about the interactions that occur between plants and microbes, and about how microbes organize themselves and co-evolve with plant hosts.” says Dan Tomso, Chief Science Officer at AgBiome, “We are thrilled that Paul and Ruben were able to use our strain genomes to conduct this research and advance the field.”
The close relationship between plants and microbes is the subject of intense research globally. A deeper understanding of crop-associated microbiomes will be critically important for advancing agriculture and crop science in the coming years.
“Our study is a great example of how much information and insight can be derived from first systematically isolating and characterizing plant-associated microbes and their genomes and then re-introducing the bacteria to germ-free plants to study their individual and combined impact on plant physiology.” says Schulze-Lefert.