Descrizione del progetto
La resistenza indotta dai microbi mette radici
Per aumentare le rese delle colture e ridurre l’uso di pesticidi, alcune aziende europee hanno intrapreso una ricerca per sfruttare il potere dei microbi benefici. Del resto, le piante e le loro radici ospitano naturalmente una serie di microrganismi vantaggiosi, alcuni dei quali rafforzano la resistenza agli insetti nocivi. Con il sostegno del programma di azioni Marie Skłodowska-Curie, il progetto MIRA unirà 11 istituzioni accademiche e sei aziende, concentrandosi sulla ricerca di base e applicata. La loro missione è quella di svelare i meccanismi di resistenza indotti dai microbi, prevederne l’efficacia in varie condizioni e sviluppare metodi migliori per la formulazione e l’applicazione degli inoculanti microbici. Con 15 ricercatori in fase iniziale di carriera, questa rete multisettoriale mira a ridefinire l’orticoltura e l’agricoltura europee.
Obiettivo
Plants are intimately associated with a diversity of beneficial microorganisms in their root zone, some of which can enhance the plant’s resistance to insect pests. Thus, the use of Microbe-induced Resistance (MiR) to reduce pest losses in agriculture has emerged as a highly promising possibility to improve crop resilience and reduce use of harmful pesticides. European companies have therefore started to develop and market beneficial microbes. However, MiR appears to be strongly context-dependent, with reduced benefits under certain biotic and abiotic conditions and in some crop varieties. Further, it is a challenge to deliver and ensure stable associations of beneficial microbes and plants, and avoid undesired effects on beneficial insects. Thus we absolutely must improve our understanding of MiR mechanisms and context-dependency, in order to improve context stability of MiR and promote the use of MiR for crop protection. Our MiRA project will train 15 ESRs in basic and applied research on context-dependency of MiR, mechanisms, and impacts on plant performance and other biocontrol organisms. We will use this understanding to improve our ability to predict the effectiveness of MiR under different conditions, to select plant and microbial strains with improved context-stability, and to develop better methods for the formulation of microbial inoculants and their application in agriculture. Finally, we will analyse economic prospects and constraints for MiR development and use. To achieve these goals, we have assembled a consortium of 11 academic institutions and 6 companies, including microbial inoculant producers and agricultural advisors, with complementary skills in basic and applied research and innovation. Our ESRs will be trained within this multi-sectoral interdisciplinary network for a future career in research, product and service development in European horticulture and agriculture, pushing boundaries in European research and innovation.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
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Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-ITN-ETN - European Training NetworksCoordinatore
1165 Kobenhavn
Danimarca