Harnessing atmospheric nitrogen for cereal crop production

Bloch, Sarah E.; Ryu, Min-Hyung; Özaydın, Bilge; Broglie, Richard

doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2019.09.024

Cited by 82 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…129 In other medical applications apart from therapeutics, synthetic biology has also empowered new methodologies for diagnostics and prophylactics. For in vitro diagnostic applications, reaction mixes with nucleic acid sensors based on RNA toehold switch 130,131 or CRISPR-Cas13/Cas12a 153,154 In China, plant synthetic biologists are using genome editing to engineer aromatic rice and wheat resistant to powdery mildew. 155 Rice, the staple food in Asia, has also been genetically modified to be resistant to bacterial blight.…”

Section: Next-generation Biomanufacturingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among its wide applications in agriculture, there are three strategies in boosting crop yields, namely increasing carbon fixation efficiency, minimizing plant respiratory CO 2 loss, and establishing nitrogen fixation mechanisms in non‐legume crops 152 . On nitrogen fixation, there are genetic engineering methods for crop plants, cereal crops in most studies, to express heterologous nitrogenase genes or to form nodule‐like symbiosis similar to legume roots; others seek to engineer bacteria that are naturally associated with cereal crops to carry out nitrogen fixation 153,154 . In China, plant synthetic biologists are using genome editing to engineer aromatic rice and wheat resistant to powdery mildew 155 .…”

Section: Synthetic Biology‐definition and Stakeholdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Future trends in synthetic biology in Asia

et al. 2021

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Synthetic biology research and technology translation has garnered increasing interest from the governments and private investors in Asia, where the technology has great potential in driving a sustainable bio-based economy. This Perspective reviews the latest developments in the key enabling technologies of synthetic biology and its application in bio-manufacturing, medicine, food and agriculture in Asia. Asia-centric strengths in synthetic biology to grow the bio-based economy, such as advances in genome editing and the presence of biofoundries combined with the availability of natural resources and vast markets, are also highlighted. The potential barriers to the sustainable development of the field, including inadequate infrastructure and policies, with suggestions to overcome these by building public-private partnerships, more effective multilateral collaborations and well-developed governance framework, are presented. Finally, the roles of technology, education and regulation in mitigating potential biosecurity risks are examined. Through these discussions, stakeholders from different groups, including academia, industry and government, are expectantly better positioned to contribute towards the establishment of innovation and bioeconomy hubs in Asia.

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Section: Next-generation Biomanufacturingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Synthetic Biology‐definition and Stakeholdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Future trends in synthetic biology in Asia

et al. 2021

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“…Elite inoculants should ideally a) competitively colonise and persist in plant root compartments to exert their beneficial effects, b) exhibit some degree of interactive specificity with the target host to prevent promiscuous growth promotion of non-target species, and c) fix and release large quantities of N for assimilation by the plant (3). While no natural bacteria have been categorically demonstrated to satisfy these three criteria, targeted selection and genetic engineering programs are currently underway to assist in the development of elite inoculant strains (2,(4)(5)(6)(7)(8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A simple assay for quantification of plant-associative bacterial nitrogen fixation

Haskett

2021

Preprint

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Accurate quantification of plant-associative bacterial nitrogen (N) fixation is crucial for selection and development of elite diazotrophic inoculants that could be used to supply cereal crops with nitrogen in a sustainable manner. Because a low oxygen environment that may not be conducive to plant growth is essential for optimal stability and function of the N-fixing catalyst nitrogenase, quantification of N fixation is routinely carried out on 'free-living' bacteria grown in the absence of a host plant. Such experiments may not divulge the true extent of N fixation occurring in the rhizosphere where the availability and forms of nutrients such as carbon and N, which are key regulators of N fixation, may vary widely. Here, we present a modified in planta acetylene reduction assay, utilising the model cereal barley as a host, to quantify associative N fixation by diazotrophic bacteria. The assay is rapid, highly reproducible, applicable to a broad range of diazotrophs, and can be performed with simple equipment commonly found in most laboratories that investigate plant-microbe interactions.

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“…A root-associated, nitrogen-fixing bacterium could theoretically provide significant nitrogen to a cereal crop given adequate abundance and nitrogen-fixing activity in the rhizosphere, reducing producers’ dependence on synthetic nitrogen. Several recent reviews discuss strategies and challenges associated with the use of diazotrophic bacteria for agricultural benefit in non-legumes ( Mus et al , 2016 ; Batista and Dixon, 2019 ; Bloch et al , 2019 a ; Pankievicz et al , 2019 ). However, due to the high energetic cost of BNF, requiring 16 ATPs per molecule of N 2 reduced, the abundance of synthetic nitrogen selects against and represses BNF in modern agricultural settings, preventing significant contributions of nitrogen by natural soil bacteria ( Chapman et al , 1949 ; Stewart, 1969 ; Dixon and Kahn, 2004 ; Weese et al , 2015 ; Smercina et al , 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological nitrogen fixation in maize: optimizing nitrogenase expression in a root-associated diazotroph

Bloch

Clark

Gottlieb

et al. 2020

Journal of Experimental Botany

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Plants depend upon beneficial interactions between roots and root-associated microorganisms for growth promotion, disease suppression, and nutrient availability. This includes the ability of free-living diazotrophic bacteria to supply nitrogen, an ecological role that has been long underappreciated in modern agriculture for efficient crop production systems. Long-term ecological studies in legume–rhizobia interactions have shown that elevated nitrogen inputs can lead to the evolution of less cooperative nitrogen-fixing mutualists. Here we describe how reprogramming the genetic regulation of nitrogen fixation and assimilation in a novel root-associated diazotroph can restore ammonium production in the presence of exogenous nitrogen inputs. We isolated a strain of the plant-associated proteobacterium Kosakonia sacchari from corn roots, characterized its nitrogen regulatory network, and targeted key nodes for gene editing to optimize nitrogen fixation in corn. While the wild-type strain exhibits repression of nitrogen fixation in conditions replete with bioavailable nitrogen, such as fertilized greenhouse and field experiments, remodeled strains show elevated levels in the rhizosphere of corn in the greenhouse and field even in the presence of exogenous nitrogen. Such strains could be used in commercial applications to supply fixed nitrogen to cereal crops.

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Harnessing atmospheric nitrogen for cereal crop production

Cited by 82 publications

References 70 publications

Future trends in synthetic biology in Asia

Future trends in synthetic biology in Asia

A simple assay for quantification of plant-associative bacterial nitrogen fixation

Biological nitrogen fixation in maize: optimizing nitrogenase expression in a root-associated diazotroph

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