Seedborne microbial strains from wild crop ancestors as multispectral biopesticides

Overview

Modern crops have lost much of the natural defensive microbiota that their wild ancestors carried through generations of domestication. This research identifies and harnesses beneficial microorganisms found in the seeds of wild crop relatives to develop new multispectral biopesticides. By comparing cultivable seedborne microbiota between modern varieties and their closest wild ancestors in tomato, lentil, pea, and chickpea, the team has discovered that ancestral seeds harbor significantly richer and more diverse microbial populations, with 20-30% classified as biocontrol agents compared to only about 5% in modern cultivars. These ancestral strains represent an untapped reservoir of adapted biocontrollers capable of addressing pests and soil pathogens in today's agricultural systems.

Technical specifications

Research approach:

• Surface-sterilized and germinated seeds (n = 100) from modern crop-wild ancestor pairs grown under identical soil conditions
• Cultivable communities isolated on LB medium plates, identified by morphology, and analyzed for population prevalence
• Mean populations ranged from 20 x 10² to 240 x 10³ colonies per mg of dry weight biomass
• Microbial diversity measured at 2-4 species in modern crops versus 6-10 species in wild ancestors
• Biocontrol population rates: approximately 5% in modern seeds, rising to 20-30% in ancestral seeds
• Statistical validation performed across four replicated trials using two-way ANOVA (p < 0.05)

Future development plan:

• Metagenomic and culture-based identification of whole seedborne microbiota from modern species and wild ancestors to build a comprehensive strain collection
• Application of relevance criteria to identify species absent in modern crops and design synthetic microbial consortia
• Testing of synthetic communities as treatments against major soil-borne pests and pathogens, including both established and emerging threats

Technology readiness level

The technology is currently at an early-to-mid stage of development (TRL 3-4). Initial validation has been completed through replicated comparative studies demonstrating the differential abundance and diversity of biocontrol strains between ancestral and modern seeds. The next phase involves expanding the strain collection through metagenomics, designing optimized synthetic consortia, and conducting greenhouse and field trials to evaluate efficacy against target pests and pathogens in modern crop systems.