Bioscience Evidence 2024, Vol.14, No.2, 44-55 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 49 6 Case Studies 6.1 Detailed analysis of specific field trials and their outcomes In recent years, several field trials have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of engineered synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) in enhancing crop resilience under various environmental conditions. One notable study involved the application of SynComs derived from rhizosphere soil to protect wheat against the soilborne fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani AG8 (Figure 1). This study created ten different SynComs from 14 bacterial strains, and seven of these SynComs successfully protected wheat from infection, although they were not more effective than single strains in reducing root rot disease (Yin et al., 2022). Figure 1 The inhibition of synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) on the growth of Rhizoctonia solani AG8 in dual-culture assay (Adopted from Yin et al., 2022) Image caption: C1: SynCom 1; C2: SynCom 2; C3: SynCom 3; C4: SynCom 4; C5: SynCom 5; C6: SynCom 6; C7: SynCom 7; C8: SynCom 8; C9: SynCom 9; C10: SynCom 10 (Adopted from Yin et al., 2022) Another significant trial focused on designing SynComs with microorganisms possessing traits for robust colonization and specific beneficial functions for plants. This approach utilized computational methods, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, to screen and identify beneficial microbes, ultimately improving the process of determining the best combination of microbes for desired plant phenotypes (Figure 2) (Souza et al., 2020). 6.2 Success stories and lessons learned The field trials have yielded several success stories, demonstrating the potential of SynComs in enhancing crop resilience. For instance, the study on wheat protection against Rhizoctonia solani AG8 highlighted the ability of SynComs to inhibit the growth of the pathogen through the production of volatiles (Figure 3) and cell-free supernatants (Figure 4) from specific bacterial strains (Yin et al., 2022). Additionally, the use of computational methods to design SynComs has shown promise in delivering stable and effective inoculants tailored to specific plant needs, thereby enhancing crop performance under stressful conditions (Souza et al., 2020). These successes underscore the importance of integrating microbial ecology and genetics in the design of SynComs and leveraging advanced computational tools to optimize microbial combinations.
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