Ongoing research projects:
Development of native rhizosphere community-based microbial consortia (CBC) for crop stress tolerance improvement and habitat re-creation
Integrating rhizosphere microbiomes in Africa, Israel, South America and in the Baltic Sea Region we analyze the role of crop plant microbiome in crop plant adaptation to selected stress habitats. These studies illustrate the importance of method for selection of CBC (also known as PGPR) and nanoparticles for the CBC formulation. These results explain the generally observed inconsistent behaviour of PGPRs in field application. The nanoparticle effect is soil specific and is related to the particles’ ability to modulate the surface formation of complexes with important types of biomolecules such as phospholipids and proteins. Understanding the pathways improves the effectiveness of formulation and optimize the mutually complex interactions, as it allows their regulated delivery and release, focusing on specific tissues and cells at specific times. In this innovative transdisciplinary approach experimental studies with breeding lines and rhizosphere microbiomes are combined with cultivation-independent bioinformatic analysis to identify putative microbial consortia.
Reveal the CBC effect on plant vegetation characteristics and C N dynamics. Validation of the CBC performance in model systems (i) and at the stations for measuring ecosystem atmosphere relations (SMEAR) (ii)
Goal: Identification of crop plant genomic sequences associated with the stress factor of the study. Identification of genomic markers for CBC interaction to be employed in breeding programs
i. CBC from project 1 with improved plant performance are characterized using MULTIOMICs techniques. The beneficial microbiome is selected through construction of an interaction network and potential key microbes are identified based on structural properties and/or functional modules.
ii. SMEAR, a high end ecosystem interaction study platform, there long-term life history datasets are created, is established in Estonia in collaboration to the Estonian University of Life Sciences https://smear.emu.ee/ . At the station comprehensive, long-term, real-time measurements of meteorological characteristics and atmospheric trace gases, and atmospheric particulate matter, are conducted together with eco-physiological measurements at soil and plant level. The measurements are combined with continuous monitoring of ecosystem net primary productivity. In the station a comprehensive large-scale scientific infrastructure provides continuous high-quality data of a large set of environmental parameters.
Bioremediation of pollution generated by manmade chemicals in the form of industrial activity, agricultural chemicals, or the improper disposal of waste
Goal: Replacement of conventional methods routinely used for the remediation of contaminated environmental soil and water such as excavation, transport to specialized landfills, incineration, stabilization, and vitrification. Bioremediation technologies using native microbial consortia offer many advantages over traditional remediation technologies as they can be applied in situ without the need for removal and transport of contaminated soil/water, are economical, less labour-intensive and have a lower carbon footprint.
Dissemination and communication: Crop plant microbiome is an essential tool for future production systems
Goal: To maximize the impact of project 1, 2 and 3 derived information While human microbiome research is increasingly applied in practical medicine, plant-microbial interaction research has a relatively weak link to practical agriculture. The future production systems will be based on carefully designed crops and crop specific microbiome focusing on ecological restoration, habitat creation and crop production profitability. The link to public education, practical agriculture/industry and civil society will be strengthened via product and method communication. In collaboration to social scientists, we establish trans-national collaboration between researchers and stakeholders and carry out dissemination and communication activities addressed to district audiences by using our projects concepts and results.
Industrial application of microbial consortia :Grapes under Climate Change (Grapes CC)
In order to develop climate change mitigation strategies, researchers from different climate zones will necessitate working together. For these strategies to be as efficient and comprehensive as possible, a multi-actor approach, involving academic and agricultural stakeholders at an international level, is fundamental.
Our approach is seeing the issues in the local ecosystem, production system and in the global scale context. Hence, soil C and N dynamics are focused. Our two main objectives are internationalisation of research (i) and internationalisation of education (ii) in the field of wine-making under climate change.
(i) Internationalisation of research - aims at facilitating exchanges of knowledge and experience as well as co-creation of common strategies between researchers from Sweden, Armenia, Georgia and Chile.
(ii) Internationalisation of education - focuses on the strategies of education students. In order to adapt wine grapes to extreme, unpredictable conditions, future wine producers will have to be able to share expertise and best practices with colleagues from other geographical zones. As international collaboration is crucial, students need to acquire the skills to engage in it.
