Microbial volatile organosulfur compounds for targeted plant growth modulation

Overview

This research investigates how volatile organosulfur compounds produced by soil-based microbes can be harnessed to influence plant growth. The core finding is that compounds such as carbon disulfide and dicarbon disulfide, emitted by plant- and soil-associated Pseudomonas spp., can positively affect plant growth at low concentrations while inhibiting growth at higher levels. By applying specific substrates to soils, the team can direct microbes to produce targeted volatiles on demand, offering a biological lever for crop management. Early work has already shown that this soil-priming approach can suppress plant pathogens, pointing to dual benefits for growth promotion and disease control.

Technical specifications

• Microbial platform: Plant- and soil-associated Pseudomonas spp. that naturally emit a diverse array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including organosulfur volatiles and hydrogen cyanide.
• Directed VOC production: Application of specific defined substrates triggers the formation of targeted volatiles, enabling controlled rather than incidental emissions.
• Soil-priming method: Substrate application combined with specific Pseudomonas strains increases VOC levels directly in soil systems, validated under in vitro conditions.
• Pathogen suppression: The priming approach has been demonstrated to control plant pathogens, suggesting integrated growth-and-protection effects.
• Future testing scope: Planned validation across tomato, soybean, and Arabidopsis at varied concentrations, with plant growth monitoring and microbiome analysis of isolated roots to define optimal VOC ranges and inhibition thresholds.

Technology readiness level

The work is at an early-to-mid stage of development. VOC production profiles have been characterized for multiple Pseudomonas strains in vitro, and substrate-driven production has been demonstrated both in vitro and in soils, along with initial pathogen-control results. Next steps include controlled plant trials to establish dose-response relationships between specific organosulfur VOCs and plant growth outcomes, and to characterize shifts in the root-associated microbiome. The approach is not yet a commercial product but represents a promising, biologically based route to influencing crop performance.