UrFU Biologists Developed a Biofertilizer That Enhances Plant Durability

10:55, February 10, 2020

Bacteria may be used to recultivate deteriorated land

Scientists at the Center for Fundamental Biotechnology and Bioengineering of the UrFU Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics produced a new type of biofertilizer based on consortia of microorganisms. Bacteria-based biofertilizers help plants grow better and make them more resistant to heavy metals. They can be used not only to improve the livelihoods of agricultural plants (obtaining a large crop), but also to restore territories disturbed by industrial enterprises.

“The scientific novelty is that we isolate microorganisms from natural substrates that are heavily contaminated with heavy metals. That is, we select metal-tolerant bacteria, ”explains Irina Kiseleva, head of the Center for Fundamental Biotechnology and Bioengineering of UrFU. “Since there is a problem of pollution of territories with heavy metals, including agricultural ones, it is necessary to protect plants from the absorption of these heavy elements so that they do not then enter human food."

Bacterial fertilizers, according to the biologist, have been used for a long time. However, consortia of bacteria that affect different spheres of plant life are almost never used in practice. The process of selecting bacteria and creating fertilizer is long.

"We take natural substrates from the root zone, plant tissue, isolate the microorganisms that inhabit them, cultivate these bacteria, characterize bacterial strains. Then we study the properties: are they able to produce hormones or not, can improve plant growth or not, can dissolve insoluble compounds - for example, insoluble salts of potassium or phosphorus in the soil - or not,” says Irina Kiseleva. - If we find such bacteria, we make them mixtures - consortia. They are then added to a specific carrier, which for these bacteria may be peat, charcoal or something else. In the project that we are currently implementing, we use a biochar."

The research group of UrFU is international - it includes the efforts from Indian scholars. At the end of 2019, the group of scientists won a grant with colleagues from India, providing for extensive joint collaboration.

“From bacteria, we select crops that can be resistant to arid conditions. This is due to the fact that the problem of drought in the world is a very sharp one. Arid areas have elevated concentrations of metals, and it is very important to find bacteria that are resistant to both drought and metals," explains the research assistant at the Biotechnology Laboratory for Maintaining and Restoring the Components of Natural and Transformed Biosystems Adarsh ​​Kumar. - We introduced these bacteria into the medium for growing plants, in particular, we worked with mustard, sunflower, and found that the introduction of bacteria accelerates plant growth. "We also studied plant stress reactions in the absence of microorganisms and when microorganisms were introduced, and found that microorganisms increase the tolerance of plants to stress conditions."

The use of such biofertilizers will be inexpensive, but unlike mineral fertilizers, it will cause multiple positive effects on plants. The group of scientists plans to carry out first "field experiments" in summer of 2020.