In the search for new alternatives to the use of pesticides in the fight against phytopathogens, great potential can be foreseen in the use of secondary metabolites as antibiotics produced by microorganisms, especially bacteria and fungi, but also from the world of plants. The availability of a growing number of sequenced microorganism genomes, especially those with the ability to inhibit pathogens and/or promote plant growth, in addition to genome mining work and metabolomics studies, opens enormous possibilities to increase the stock of these strains of microorganisms and biochemical compounds with antimicrobial function. With engineering and protocols based on genomics and metabolomics, consortia of microorganisms or extraction cocktails can be made with secondary metabolites of well-studied bacterial or fungal strains, and even from plants, with high specificities towards recalcitrant phytopathogens in crops of regional or global socioeconomic importance.
Significant losses in agricultural production due to crop diseases are a common occurrence in every agricultural region, and although the application of pesticides helps to reduce the damage, the secondary effects due to contamination in the environment as well as toxicity in domesticated or wild animals and humans are a serious problem. Genome sequencing and mining allow us to rapidly decipher the diversity of secondary metabolites that can be produced by a bacterium from the rhizosphere, soil, or some other niche, or by a fungus or plant.
With this knowledge in hand, for a more efficient fight against phytopathogens, and for the reduction of the use of polluting agrochemicals, the most suitable consortia of beneficial microorganisms can be made. Free living microorganisms can be added to sowing seeds, preserved in diverse formulations of substrates or in microspheres; or cocktails of secondary metabolites can be embedded in microspheres where the prolonged release of the compound can be designed. The task is arduous, but the vast possibilities are encouraging.
The scope of this Research Topic focuses on advances and alternatives for the use of secondary metabolites to counteract phytopathogens or promote plant growth, with emphasis on, but not limited to, the following themes:
1. Genomics, genome mining, and metabolomics for the identification of genes and/or gene clusters for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites or antibiotic metabolites, or metabolites for invigoration or induction of defense responses in plants.
2. Diversity of bacterial and fungal genera and species with the potential to be evaluated to discover new anti-phytopathogenic metabolites.
3. Engineering of consortiums of microorganisms or cocktails of metabolites to inhibit phytopathogens or promote plant growth.
4. Alternative formulations and application protocols to prolong the shelf life of biocontrol agents, be it the microorganism or its secondary metabolites.
Research papers and review articles are welcome.
In the search for new alternatives to the use of pesticides in the fight against phytopathogens, great potential can be foreseen in the use of secondary metabolites as antibiotics produced by microorganisms, especially bacteria and fungi, but also from the world of plants. The availability of a growing number of sequenced microorganism genomes, especially those with the ability to inhibit pathogens and/or promote plant growth, in addition to genome mining work and metabolomics studies, opens enormous possibilities to increase the stock of these strains of microorganisms and biochemical compounds with antimicrobial function. With engineering and protocols based on genomics and metabolomics, consortia of microorganisms or extraction cocktails can be made with secondary metabolites of well-studied bacterial or fungal strains, and even from plants, with high specificities towards recalcitrant phytopathogens in crops of regional or global socioeconomic importance.
Significant losses in agricultural production due to crop diseases are a common occurrence in every agricultural region, and although the application of pesticides helps to reduce the damage, the secondary effects due to contamination in the environment as well as toxicity in domesticated or wild animals and humans are a serious problem. Genome sequencing and mining allow us to rapidly decipher the diversity of secondary metabolites that can be produced by a bacterium from the rhizosphere, soil, or some other niche, or by a fungus or plant.
With this knowledge in hand, for a more efficient fight against phytopathogens, and for the reduction of the use of polluting agrochemicals, the most suitable consortia of beneficial microorganisms can be made. Free living microorganisms can be added to sowing seeds, preserved in diverse formulations of substrates or in microspheres; or cocktails of secondary metabolites can be embedded in microspheres where the prolonged release of the compound can be designed. The task is arduous, but the vast possibilities are encouraging.
The scope of this Research Topic focuses on advances and alternatives for the use of secondary metabolites to counteract phytopathogens or promote plant growth, with emphasis on, but not limited to, the following themes:
1. Genomics, genome mining, and metabolomics for the identification of genes and/or gene clusters for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites or antibiotic metabolites, or metabolites for invigoration or induction of defense responses in plants.
2. Diversity of bacterial and fungal genera and species with the potential to be evaluated to discover new anti-phytopathogenic metabolites.
3. Engineering of consortiums of microorganisms or cocktails of metabolites to inhibit phytopathogens or promote plant growth.
4. Alternative formulations and application protocols to prolong the shelf life of biocontrol agents, be it the microorganism or its secondary metabolites.
Research papers and review articles are welcome.