The sustainable production of biofuels from energy crops could greatly benefit from strategies that increase crop productivity in existing agricultural lands. Application of rare earth enzymes (REE) increases crop yields but the molecular mechanisms by which REE increase plant productivity are not well understood. As REE affect the metabolism of methylotrophs, a predominant member of the plant microbiome, we aim to identify the mechanisms that are REE-dependent and mediated by methylotrophs to define engineering targets and to further reduce the use of fertilizers.
Proposer: Norma Martinez-Gomez, Michigan State University
Proposal: Dissecting the genetic and functional diversity of rare earth-dependent plant-microbiome interactions by sequencing analysis