Major genome project heralds freedom from fossil fuel-based fertilisers

The world is one step closer to being freed from a reliance on fossil fuel-based fertiliser with the announcement of a $10 million project underway at Murdoch University.

A joint venture between the Centre for Rhizobium Studies (CRS) led by Dr Wayne Reeve at Murdoch University (Australia) and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI, USA) led by the Head of the Microbial Program Dr Nikos Kyrpides will aim to decipher the genetic code for 100 different rhizobial strains to boost natural sources of nitrogen in agricultural systems.

Rhizobia are soil bacteria that produce nitrogen inside nodules formed on the roots of legume species such as peas, beans or clovers. These symbiotic bacteria contribute around 65% of the nitrogen currently used in agricultural production.

The CRS team (Dr Wayne Reeve, Prof John Howieson, Assoc Prof Graham O’Hara, Assoc Prof Matt Bellgard, Dr Ravi Tiwari, Dr Lambert Brau and Dr Vanessa Melino) will be tackling the mammoth task of completely sequencing the genomes of rhizobia selected from distinct geographical regions across the globe.

Improving symbiotic nitrogen fixation in agricultural settings will have significant benefits for the environment as fertilisers require huge amounts of fossil fuels to produce and the run off of artificially applied nitrogen causes the pollution of waterways.

Legumes also have the potential to drive bioenergy development from trees, promote carbon sequestration and the sustainable production of biofuels.

Project leader Dr Wayne Reeve said this unique collaboration was the first large-scale attempt to unravel the complexities of how genetics and environmental factors contribute to the success of rhizobia with legume crops and pastures.

“To put our project into perspective, we will be generating twice the amount of sequence information generated from the human genome sequencing project,” Dr Reeve said.

“The aim is to complete these bacterial genomes and then to relate this wealth of new information to the environment, and discover traits for competitiveness, legume compatibility and efficiency of nitrogen fixation.”

Thirty scientists from 15 countries across the globe have been invited to participate in this project and funding will be provided by the JGI.

The team aim to have the project completed within two years.