Class
Article
College
College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences
Department
Plants, Soils, and Climate Department
Faculty Mentor
Amita Kaundal
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Microbes are among the planet's most diverse organisms and influence plant growth and development. Plant-microbe interactions enable plants to survive in many different environments, particularly in harsh climates where climate factors and nutrient availability stress plants. Microbes help plants acquire nutrients, assist in pathogenic repulsion, and increase drought tolerance. Plants native to the Intermountain West region are drought-resilient and are acclimatized to dry and arid climates. We are isolating plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) from various native plants of the IW region. Ceanothus velutinus is one such plant. We isolated several PGPBs from this plant and tested 18 bacteria for plant growth-promoting activities on Arabidopsis thaliana. Six of these 18 microbes showed a significant increase in shoot biomass. Four of these six microbes were then tested on wheat plants in a growth chamber to determine the microbe effect on yield parameters such as the number of seeds per plant and the weight of seeds. The plant treated with CK-6 showed a visual increase in growth compared to non-treated plants. Additionally, the number and weight of the seeds produced were significantly higher than non-treated plants. As this is still preliminary data, we will test the microbes in a field over the summer to see whether the benefits will apply in a realistic growth environment.
Location
Logan, UT
Start Date
4-12-2023 1:30 PM
End Date
4-12-2023 2:30 PM
Included in
Native Plant Bacteria Significantly Enhance Plants’ Growth
Logan, UT
Microbes are among the planet's most diverse organisms and influence plant growth and development. Plant-microbe interactions enable plants to survive in many different environments, particularly in harsh climates where climate factors and nutrient availability stress plants. Microbes help plants acquire nutrients, assist in pathogenic repulsion, and increase drought tolerance. Plants native to the Intermountain West region are drought-resilient and are acclimatized to dry and arid climates. We are isolating plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) from various native plants of the IW region. Ceanothus velutinus is one such plant. We isolated several PGPBs from this plant and tested 18 bacteria for plant growth-promoting activities on Arabidopsis thaliana. Six of these 18 microbes showed a significant increase in shoot biomass. Four of these six microbes were then tested on wheat plants in a growth chamber to determine the microbe effect on yield parameters such as the number of seeds per plant and the weight of seeds. The plant treated with CK-6 showed a visual increase in growth compared to non-treated plants. Additionally, the number and weight of the seeds produced were significantly higher than non-treated plants. As this is still preliminary data, we will test the microbes in a field over the summer to see whether the benefits will apply in a realistic growth environment.