By Gwyn Beattie, professor of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, ISU

Project Summary

Abiotic stresses including water deficits, salinity, low phosphate and acidity can negatively impact soybean growth and number of flowers per plant, pods per plant, seeds per pod, and weight of pods (1). Moreover, the soybean genes induced by these stresses indicate activation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathways  in response to these stresses (1). ROS pathways are similarly activated in other crops (2). ROS are oxidative products, including radicals, that are highly reactive and cause cellular damage. Whereas ROS in non-stressed plants serve as signal molecules, high levels can be toxic to cells. Recently, microbial inoculants on diverse crops like rice, citrus and potato were found to induce antioxidant activities that confer stress protection (3-5), but this has not yet been explored in soybean. We propose to take multiple approaches to explore the potential for microbes to serve as protectants for plants under ROS-generating stressful conditions.

(2-year project funded fall 2024)