Soil metagenomic and plant transcriptomic analysis following treatment with UB5000

Biotechnologies Ulysse has assembled a consortium of bacteria that, when applied to the soil every 2-3 weeks, appears to have an effect on drought resistance. However, the frequency of application of the inoculant and its mode of action remains to be determined. In addition, the second partner, Azimut Innovation also operates in the field of biostimulants and is particularly interested in the genetic determinants of this biostimulation. This project will be a metagenomic and transcriptomic project of lettuce plants treated or not with the inoculant, under normal condition or drought condition. The objective of this project is to understand the impact of the inoculant on the plant in order to base on solid scientific data assertions on drought resistance. The second objective of the project will be targeted by metagenomics, it will consist in determining the persistence of the inoculum in the soil and the effect of the inoculum on the soil microbiome. This project will be jointly funded by CRIBIQ  and NSERC-CRD.

The current recommended formulation and product application protocol developed by Ulysse (UB5000) is not based on scientific data and it is quite possible that some strains of the inoculum do not survive beyond a few days ( and therefore do not contribute to the observed effect). It is also possible that a single application of the inoculant is sufficient, as it is possible that the inoculation should be done every 10 days. Our project will determine; which strains contribute to the observed effect, what should be the optimal application frequency, what is the persistence of the strains in the inoculum and what is the effect on the plant.

In the end, the product that will be developed will contain the strains that really contribute to the drought resistance and which persist in the soil. The freuency of application will be based on scientific data and will promote an optimal effect. This information will enable Biotechnologies Ulysse to deploy the product in the US market and to file the homologation applications necessary for its commercialization. Azimut Innovation, for its part, will have access to transcriptomic data that will enable it to search for the marker genes of the biostimulation, then look for this effect with its phages.