Birgit Pruess, professor of microbiological sciences, and Barney Geddes, assistant professor of microbiological sciences, have received a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.
The project is titled “Adding pre-biotics to pro-biotics: Chemoattractants Support Rhizosphere Bacteria, Enhancing Plant Growth and Disease Resistance,” which has a budget of $190,000.
The researchers are proposing the use of pre-biotic plant root exudates to support the pro-biotic inoculant rhizosphere bacteria that are currently being used for peas and in research for tomatoes and cucumbers.
According to Pruess, chemoattractants support rhizosphere bacteria, which enhance plant growth and disease resistance.
“The research builds upon the concept that plants exude metabolic compounds into the soil that plant-beneficial bacteria can use to swim towards the plant root,” Pruess said. “This is a mechanism by which plants recruit bacteria to their root microbiome.
“In addition to these pro-biotic bacteria, the grant proposes to use pre-biotic chemoattractants to help the bacteria locate the plant roots and establish themselves within the rhizobiome,” she said. “This would enhance plant growth characteristics, competitiveness of the pro-biotic bacteria against resident natural soil flora, disease resistance, and reduction in the use of nitrogen fertilizer.”
Pruess said the grant will offer educational opportunities for two graduate and several undergraduate students.
Pruess, who earned her doctorate at Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany, has received several awards, including NDSU’s Larson/Yaggie Excellence in Research Award in 2006, William J. and Angelyn A. Austin Advising Award in 2010 and the H. Roald and Janet Lund Excellence in Teaching Award in 2021.
She also is past president of the North Dakota Academy of Sciences, past president of the American Society for Microbiology-North Central Branch, past president of NDSU Faculty Senate and past faculty advisory member of the State Board of Higher Education.
Geddes earned his doctorate from the University of Manitoba, Canada. Earlier this year, he received the New Innovator in Food and Agriculture Research Award from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research.
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