2023-11-15 マサチューセッツ工科大学(MIT)
◆彼らは、窒素ガスをアンモニアに変換できる微生物を金属-有機コーティングで保護する手法を開発しました。このコーティングは、微生物の成長や機能を妨げずに細胞を損傷から守り、野菜などの種の発芽率を向上させました。これにより、微生物を肥料として使用する際の製造および輸送の障害が軽減され、農家がより簡単に利用できる可能性があります。
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.mit.edu/2023/microbes-could-reduce-need-for-chemical-fertilizers-1115
- https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacsau.3c00426
自己組織化ナノコーティングが微生物肥料を保護し、気候変動に強い農業を実現する Self-Assembled Nanocoatings Protect Microbial Fertilizers for Climate-Resilient Agriculture
Benjamin Burke, Gang Fan, Pris Wasuwanich, Evan B. Moore, and Ariel L. Furst
Journal of the American Chemical Society Au Published:October 30, 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.3c00426
Abstract
Chemical fertilizers have been crucial for sustaining the current global population by supplementing overused farmland to support consistent food production, but their use is unsustainable. Pseudomonas chlororaphis is a nitrogen-fixing bacterium that could be used as a fertilizer replacement, but this microbe is delicate. It is sensitive to stressors, such as freeze-drying and high temperatures. Here, we demonstrate protection of P. chlororaphis from freeze-drying, high temperatures (50 oC), and high humidity using self-assembling metal-phenolic network (MPN) coatings. The composition of the MPN is found to significantly impact its protective efficacy, and with optimized compositions, no viability loss is observed for MPN-coated microbes under conditions where uncoated cells do not survive. Further, we demonstrate that MPN-coated microbes improve germination of seeds by 150% as compared to those treated with fresh P. chlororaphis. Taken together, these results demonstrate the protective capabilities of MPNs against environmental stressors and represent a critical step towards enabling the production and storage of delicate microbes under nonideal conditions.
