Progress 05/01/19 to 05/20/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The efforts of this project are targetted towards researchers and any agricultural workers who are interested in finding ways to use plant-beneficial bacteria as a biopesticide to replace chemical pestcides which are known to be harmful to human health and the environemnt. Changes/Problems:Changing the type of bacteria (Collimonas fungivorans Ter331 to Collimonas arenae Cal35) was a change because Cal35 was a more recently isolated strain from California, having less research conducted on it. It also demonstrated strong biofungificide properties making it very applicable. A shift away from investigatingthe moisture properties began early on as it was very difficult to control these moisture properties using spray-drying. Also, a quick screening experiemnt of different storage conditions showed that humidity had minimal impact on shelf storage compared to oxygen. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project providedopportunities for the researcherto bementored by experts in the microencapslation/engineering and plant-pathology fields. In addition, the researcher was able to mentor undergraduate students and give opportunites to learn more about this research and develop lab skills. A conference was attended specific to microencapsulation which allowed valuable time to the researcher to interact with individuals and experts from industry to help network and broaden the scope of what can be done in formulation and microencapsulation research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Research will bedisseminated through publications, which are currently being produced and under review. Also, a public seminar (over the internet) was given on this research as the work had heavy influence on completing the dissertation. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Moisture content and water activity was difficult to control for using spray-drying parameters and formulation ingredients and was found to have minimal impact on shelf stability. Temperature was most influencial on survival during spray-drying, while, the presence of oxygen appeared to be most detrimental to shelf survival. Low moisture storage environments showed little improvement in the shelf stabitliy of bacteria. Collimonas was able to survive for up to a month without refrigeration or freezing. After spray-drying and shelf storage at room temperature in (1) ambient, (2) low humidity, and (3) low humidity and low oxygen conditions, antifungal activity of Collimonas was retained.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Optimizing viability and yield and improving stability of Gram-negative, non-spore forming plant-beneficial bacteria encapsulated by spray-drying
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Scalable microencapsulation of plant-beneficial bacteria for sustainable agriculture
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Progress 05/01/19 to 04/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:The type of bacteria was changed. It is from the same genus, Collimonas, however, the species was switched to accomdate a newer and more relavent biocontrol strain. Findings from the response surface experiment showed that the moisture content and water actiivty cannot be controled with spray paramters nor alginate concentration, therefore it may be up to having controlled storage environments to investigate this further. From initial data in the shelf stability experiment, it is starting to seem like oxygen is more of an issue than moisture. More analyses are required to fully understand the impact of these conditions. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?I was able to mentoran undergraduate studentfor only a month before the school shut down and research was stopped. Prior to this project, I mentored an undergraduate student for the frist time, and to be able to start mentoring another student, if only for a brief time, gave me some experience in training and helping those interested in research. I also attended a small microencapuslation conference (~60 people), where I was able to connect withmany relavent individuals fromindustry, some of whom work with bacterial encapsulation. It provided valuable insight not only from a networking perspective, but the chance to learn and applyencapsulation methods and stratgies in other sectors to my research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, I plan to complete objectives 1 and 2, and publish one or two papers describing the findings. I had hoped to present at conferences and mentor more students, however, this may not be possible during this time. I will think about some other ways to present and share the research, other than through peer reviewed journals.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1.To understand the influence of moisture content and water activity in microcapsules onC. fungivorans'survivability during spray-drying and long-term storage. The one change to this proposal was the type of bacteria, Instead of C. fungivorans Ter33, C. arenae Cal35 was substitued. This was due to the fact that it has recently showed more potential as a biocontrol agent and is a relatviely, newly disocveredspecies.A response surface experiment was designed, varying three parameters. Inlet temperature, spray rate, and alginate concentration. It was found that moisture content and water activity were highly variable and could not be controlled with these parameters, there were no significant effects. Inlet temperature was the only significant factor that affected survival during spray-drying.Shelf studies are underway using three storage conditions: room temperature, controlled humidity levels ( <10% relative humidity), and controlled oxygen and humidity levels. This may tell us if low water activity or the presence of oxygen affects survival during shelf storage. 2.To investigate how spray-drying and long-term storage effect the biocontrol activity ofC. fungivorans At the moment, bacteria samples before and after spray-drying and during every shelf timepoint for each shelf conditionhavebeen stored in glycerol and frozen. Once shelf stability results are completed, a previously designed biocontrol assay (published by the collaborating mentor, Dr. Leveau) will be applied to these samples to determine if there stillis activity.
Publications
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