Ecological Engineering of Multifunctional Microbial Consortia by Aymé SPOR

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Abstract: Soil microbial communities provide a wide range of ecosystem services in agroecosystems. Interest in microbe-based biotechnological solutions is rapidly increasing as research continues to reveal their diverse potential applications in agriculture. However, manipulating microbial communities to achieve targeted functions remains a major scientific challenge and is traditionally addressed through two contrasting strategies: top-down and bottom-up approaches. The bottom-up approach requires prior knowledge of the metabolic pathways underlying the targeted function as well as of microbial interactions, whereas the top-down approach relies on the optimization of complex natural microbiomes.

In this talk, I will present an innovative top-down ecological engineering strategy that does not require the isolation or laboratory cultivation of microbial strains. By combining the fragmentation of two source communities with the coalescence of selected fragmented communities, we developed simplified microbial consortia capable of degrading both an herbicide, isoproturon (IPU), and a veterinary antibiotic, sulfamethazine (SMZ). I will then discuss how this approach could be extended to other soil microbial functions, including plant growth promotion, pathogen biocontrol, or the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
 

Biography: Aymé Spor is an INRAE researcher working at the UMR1347 Agroécologie in Dijon (France). He completed his doctoral training in Microbiology and Evolutionary Biology at the UMR GQE – Le Moulon (Gif-sur-Yvette, France) followed by a postdoctoral training in Microbial Ecology at Cornell University (Ithaca, USA). He joined INRAE in 2011.

He is responsible of the EMFEED research team whose main research goals are to : i) understand the role of biotic interactions in the assembly of soil microbial communities, ii) assess the impact of agricultural practices and contaminants on soil microbial communities, and iii) develop ecological engineering strategies targeting soil microbial communities to improve the sustainability of agroecosystems.
 

Aymé SPOR is researcher at INRAE - UMR Agroecologie in Dijon (France), more details -> Aymé SPOR