Potato - endophyte interaction in response to complex abiotic stress (POTEND Stress)

• Applicant: Privatdozentin Dr. Manuela Nagel
• Subject Area: Plant Breeding and Plant Pathology ; Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 500661197

Potato is the most consumed non-cereal food crop. To ensure a stable potato production in future, varieties with improved heat and drought tolerance are needed. Plant-associated microbes colonize almost all plant tissues and mitigate negative effects of environmental stress. Manipulating the crop microbiome is a new strategy for managing stress in agricultural systems. Cryopreservation is commonly used to preserve potato genetic diversity for breeding purposes. In this procedure, potato in vitro plants are exposed to abiotic stresses such as wounding, dehydration and cold stress and may be considered as a model system for studying the effects of complex stresses on endophyte and plant performances. Our hypothesis: Stressful conditions, such as those associated with cryopreservation, stimulate mutualistic and parasitic endophytes that express specific genes and promote or restrict plant growth.The proposed study aims to analyse the specific plant-endophyte relationship for microbes promoting and restricting potato plant growth after complex abiotic stress conditions (cryopreservation) and to identify the hormonal response and the plant’s trade-off for balancing the abiotic and biotic stresses. The objectives of the projects are (Objective 1) to detect the mutualistic and parasitic microorganisms in a collection of 2,017 cryopreserved potato lines. We will select 384 potato lines and conduct a microbiome analysis by sequencing marker genes. (Objective 2) To show that specific endophytic bacteria and/or fungi are responsible for the success or failure of the regrowth of shoot tips after cryopreservation, we will isolate, cultivate, characterize and sequence contrasting strains and inoculate them on different potato lines. To elucidate how plants’, balance the conflicting biotic (endophytes) and abiotic (cryopreservation) stresses, phytohormone markers for biotic and abiotic stress response are measured. (Objective 3) To estimate the effect of the interaction on the transcriptome level, the RNA sequences of the bacterial endophytes and the plants after cryopreservation will be investigated. (Objective 4) To elucidate if the endophytic community colonizes plant organs differently, differences during in vitro multiplication and after cryopreservation will be analysed using real time qPCR and FISH that visualizes specific bacterial genera.The proposed project attempts to understand the switch in the endophytic lifestyle from mutualistic to parasitism by studying both, the plant and microorganisms during abiotic stress. Dr. Manuela Nagel from the IPK Gatersleben (Germany) together with Dr. Dominik Grosskinsky from the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology will lead the project. In the project an PhD student and a Postdoc will be mainly involved in the project execution.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Partner Organisation: Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF)
• Cooperation Partner: Dominik Grosskinsky, Ph.D.