Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TRIBIOME (Advanced tools for integration and synergistic inTeRconnectIon of microBIOMEs in resilient food systems)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-01-01 al 2024-06-30
TRIBIOME's vision is to develop and implement a systemic solution to transform current food production systems. To this end, TRIBIOME aims to advance alignment with the Green Deal and Farm2fork strategies, by deepening the knowledge of soil/plant/ animal and human microbiomes, as well as their interrelationships and interconnections, so that they can play a leading role in the resilience of food production systems in the near future. TRIBIOME will face the main challenges such as the need to minimize resources, reduce the environmental impact and promote healthy and plant-based food chain while feeding a constantly growing world population under the paradigm of climate change. This project aims to drive this concept from its base, establishing its central nucleus in current agricultural production systems based on the relevancy of the soil and plant microbiome, in order to produce more with less, through knowledge of microbial biodiversity and its interaction with the plant, developing novel technologies to influence its modulation (i.e. those enhancing plant growth, nutrient use efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance and better nutritional and health quality of food products) in such a way as to generate an upgrade quality food and have a positive influence on the microbiomes of both animals and humans. To this end, we will work cooperatively in a multiactor approach framework with all actors in the food production systems chain, from farmers to consumers, industry, investors and policy makers, in order to develop systemic solutions that guarantee their implementation and solve the real problems and needs of society.
In the following section are detailed the main achievements and the significant activities carried out in support of them:
With the aim of addressing an innovative multi-stakeholder approach for agri-food sustainability through a decision support network:
- 1 Report presenting a comprehensive analysis of the barriers and needs related to microbiome in the food systems across European, national and regional contexts has been done
- A desk study research analysing the requirements for the food systems multifactor approach to set up a common framework has been completed.
- A Decision Support Network has been built on the model of the EIP- Agri Operational Group and a Stakeholder Platform has been established.
- The draft version of the Digital Decision Supporting Tool Platform (d-DST) named “TribiomeSmartFarm” has been realized through the creation of Mock-ups
In regards of modelling microbiomes to boost soil microbiome dynamics for a better crop quality and productivity:
- An infrastructure that provides the computational resources for data storage and project analysis is accessible for all the consortium members.
- Metagenome data have been obtained from a total of almost 900 (marker gene) and 140 (shotgun metagenomes) samples from Europe and South Africa. These massive amounts of data will provide with the bases for a global view of the plant microbiome axis.
Regarding the circularity and climate change adaptation through valorisation processes:
- Second generation sugars have been obtained from hydrolysates of wheat straw to be used for growing modulating microorganisms.
- The process conditions for the production of microorganisms are being optimised through agrowaste conditioning.
- Parameters of the process of phenolic compounds extraction have been set up and optimised. Likewise their PGP capacity is being assessed in vitro
- A baseline has been established for working with LCC, sLCA, and SbD. The preliminary study has allowed for the identification of key points to consider to determine the environmental impact of the solutions generated.
To demonstrate and validate the new microbiome tools developed:
-Evaluation of the effect of the new advanced fertilisers are done in vitro and on pot trials: The results obtained so far show that plants treated with fertiliser or with the fertiliser + modulator combination exhibit an improvement of several yield parameters compared to the unfertilised control.
With the aim of addressing an innovative multi-stakeholder approach for agri-food sustainability through a decision support network:
- 1 Report presenting a comprehensive analysis of the barriers and needs related to microbiome in the food systems across European, national and regional contexts has been done
- A desk study research analysing the requirements for the food systems multifactor approach to set up a common framework has been completed.
- A Decision Support Network has been built on the model of the EIP- Agri Operational Group and a Stakeholder Platform has been established.
- The draft version of the Digital Decision Supporting Tool Platform (d-DST) named “TribiomeSmartFarm” has been realized through the creation of Mock-ups
In regards of modelling microbiomes to boost soil microbiome dynamics for a better crop quality and productivity:
- An infrastructure that provides the computational resources for data storage and project analysis is accessible for all the consortium members.
- Metagenome data have been obtained from a total of almost 900 (marker gene) and 140 (shotgun metagenomes) samples from Europe and South Africa. These massive amounts of data will provide with the bases for a global view of the plant microbiome axis.
Regarding the circularity and climate change adaptation through valorisation processes:
- Second generation sugars have been obtained from hydrolysates of wheat straw to be used for growing modulating microorganisms.
- The process conditions for the production of microorganisms are being optimised through agrowaste conditioning.
- Parameters of the process of phenolic compounds extraction have been set up and optimised. Likewise their PGP capacity is being assessed in vitro
- A baseline has been established for working with LCC, sLCA, and SbD. The preliminary study has allowed for the identification of key points to consider to determine the environmental impact of the solutions generated.
To demonstrate and validate the new microbiome tools developed:
-Evaluation of the effect of the new advanced fertilisers are done in vitro and on pot trials: The results obtained so far show that plants treated with fertiliser or with the fertiliser + modulator combination exhibit an improvement of several yield parameters compared to the unfertilised control.
The achieved results are described below:
• An analysis of the requirements for the food systems multi-actor approach was performed concluding with the Decision Support Network (DSN). This multi-actor network operates in the microbiome-crop-consumer value chain between soil and its health, from the plant to the consumer.
• A Stakeholder Platform has been established, involving key actors of the industry and farmers and other actors from more than 50 EIP-Agri Operational Groups relevant to sustainable wheat production from all European countries. The specifications and requirements for the decision support tool gathered so far, were grouped into functional requirements like data management, reporting and visualization, decision support and authentication and non-functional requirements which are helping in understanding the decision-making processes and how they are mapped with the methodologies and methods as described by the Decision Support Network (DSN), defining the functionality and features required in the Decision Support Tool (d-DST) and assessing the data sources and data management needs.
• Multi-omic data from collected soil and plant microbiomes have been generated from samples taken from Europe. 1200 rhizosphere microbiome samples were analysed, allowing to create the background data for the construction of the microbiome networks. The networks obtained will be next analysed for modularity, keystone and effector strains. Those analysis will be the basement of the modelling phase.
• Sampling of soil and plant microbiomes from wheat plants showing selected phenotypes have been carried out. More than 150 microorganisms have been isolated, identified and characterised from soil and rhizosphere samples and 10 microorganisms have been selected.
•Methods with optimised growth conditions to obtain modulators with second generation media have been studied and the process to cultivate them has been defined at laboratory scale.
• In regards of ensuring the proper interoperability between different components, tools for decision making and advanced data visualization and communication between all the actors involved in the food value chain, some interfaces have been developed according to the mock-ups prepared in the project. However, more clarifications are needed and the key-factor, data, is not available yet.
• With the aim of promoting the use and increase adoption of microbiome-based farm management practices, 2 Trainings to farmers have already been organised (one in 2023 and the other during the 2024)
• More than 100 trends have been posted, 10 articles publised, project website released and 2 videos reocorded in order to seek produce a possitive attitude towards adoption of the TRIBIOME methodology.
• An analysis of the requirements for the food systems multi-actor approach was performed concluding with the Decision Support Network (DSN). This multi-actor network operates in the microbiome-crop-consumer value chain between soil and its health, from the plant to the consumer.
• A Stakeholder Platform has been established, involving key actors of the industry and farmers and other actors from more than 50 EIP-Agri Operational Groups relevant to sustainable wheat production from all European countries. The specifications and requirements for the decision support tool gathered so far, were grouped into functional requirements like data management, reporting and visualization, decision support and authentication and non-functional requirements which are helping in understanding the decision-making processes and how they are mapped with the methodologies and methods as described by the Decision Support Network (DSN), defining the functionality and features required in the Decision Support Tool (d-DST) and assessing the data sources and data management needs.
• Multi-omic data from collected soil and plant microbiomes have been generated from samples taken from Europe. 1200 rhizosphere microbiome samples were analysed, allowing to create the background data for the construction of the microbiome networks. The networks obtained will be next analysed for modularity, keystone and effector strains. Those analysis will be the basement of the modelling phase.
• Sampling of soil and plant microbiomes from wheat plants showing selected phenotypes have been carried out. More than 150 microorganisms have been isolated, identified and characterised from soil and rhizosphere samples and 10 microorganisms have been selected.
•Methods with optimised growth conditions to obtain modulators with second generation media have been studied and the process to cultivate them has been defined at laboratory scale.
• In regards of ensuring the proper interoperability between different components, tools for decision making and advanced data visualization and communication between all the actors involved in the food value chain, some interfaces have been developed according to the mock-ups prepared in the project. However, more clarifications are needed and the key-factor, data, is not available yet.
• With the aim of promoting the use and increase adoption of microbiome-based farm management practices, 2 Trainings to farmers have already been organised (one in 2023 and the other during the 2024)
• More than 100 trends have been posted, 10 articles publised, project website released and 2 videos reocorded in order to seek produce a possitive attitude towards adoption of the TRIBIOME methodology.