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Beneficial Partners: Context Dependent Mycorrhizal Resource Exchange in Bioenergy Cropping Systems


EMSL Project ID
60052

Abstract

The development of environmentally sustainable sources of energy is a grand challenge of the 21st century. Plant feedstocks are promising renewable sources for liquid transportation fuels, and the plant microbiome has a major impact on plant health and productivity. In particular, mutualistic associations between plants and mycorrhizal fungi can enhance plant productivity, resilience to stress, and carbon (C) allocation belowground. However, the genetic repertoires of different mycorrhizal fungi vary widely and the mechanisms through which these fungi improve plant nutrient acquisition and stress tolerance are not fully understood. We are investigating context-dependent resource exchange between Panicum hallii - a model grass species closely related to the bioenergy flagship plant switchgrass - and two mycorrhizal fungi: the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Rhizophagus irregularis and the sebacinoid mycorrhizal fungus (SMF) Serendipita bescii. Our proposed FICUS research asks how drought alters the benefit of these two mycorrhizal fungi to the plant host, and what are the consequences for rhizosphere and hyphosphere function and the soil resource economy.

To answer these questions, we propose to analyze samples generated from a multi-month 13CO2 labeling study that was designed to deconstruct context-dependent plant-microbe interactions. We also propose to develop new methods in collaboration with EMSL to interrogate microbial interactions in the hyphosphere using spatial imaging of metabolites and proteins. Using JGI resources, we will use 13C-SIP metagenomic sequencing, metatranscriptomic sequencing, and metabolomics to determine how these two mycorrhizal partners alter the flow of C into the rhizosphere microbial community and alter microbial function during limiting conditions. Using EMSL resources, we will complement this analysis by determining the impacts of drought on the hyphosphere C economy using 13C-SIP proteomics. In collaboration with EMSL, we propose to develop new methods to study the fungal hyphosphere using MALDI spatial metabolomics and spatial proteomics. This study will target the proteins and metabolites in the hyphosphere near and far from decomposing organic material. The influence of drought on organic material decomposition is a key factor in the mycorrhizal resource economy, where mycorrhizal acquisition of nutrients from organic material and the subsequent nutrient transfer to the plant host underpins the plant-mycorrhizal symbiosis. Our work will characterize in-situ fungal-microbial metabolic interactions in soil for the first time.

Our research will support the DOE BER mission by integrating 'omics measurements with quantitative isotope tracing to determine the mechanisms that regulate context-dependent plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere and hyphosphere. If beneficial microbial symbionts can help cellulosic feedstocks be profitably grown on marginal soils and under changing environmental conditions, this will be a key component in advancing the DOE's mission of ensuring future energy security.

Project Details

Project type
FICUS Research
Start Date
2021-10-01
End Date
2023-12-15
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Erin Nuccio
Institution
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Co-Investigator(s)

Rachel Hestrin
Institution
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Vanessa Brisson
Institution
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Rhona Stuart
Institution
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Peter Weber
Institution
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Jennifer Pett-Ridge
Institution
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory