Bio-screening and development of eco-innovative products for disease and pest control in agriculture/horticulture

Agriculture and horticulture have to deal with parasite pressure, which can be a very costly issue. Disease control relies on various agricultural approaches, at the forefront of which is the use of chemical pesticides. In this respect, European regulations are aiming to reduce the use of inputs or even to remove many pesticides from the market.

In the last few years, biological control agents of bacterial or fungal origin have been studied with great interest for their effects on numerous diseases. Many scientific studies have demonstrated the part played by these control agents or their biomolecules in the management of certain diseases. They seem to be a potential solution for the management of crops requiring few inputs/organic crops or crops requiring many inputs in combination with chemical pesticides. This category of molecules would also be easily approved by international regulations, which are becoming increasingly strict.

Plenty of microorganism collections exist all over the world; these are recorded in the World Federation of Culture Collections (WFCC). The valorization of these collections by screening for their biocontrol properties is only slightly considered. Therefore these collections represent unique resources to explore and find new biomolecules/bio-effectors.

Among these international collections, the fungi collection of the Catholic University of Louvain is the fourth biggest global collection of filamentous fungi, yeast and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). It consists of 30,000 living organisms including some strains which are potentially bioactive against main pathogens.

Main target: Development of an eco-innovative product based on the fixation and the selective release of beneficial microorganisms and/or microbial filtrate/mash with a biostimulant action on beneficial microorganisms and which can act as a bio-fungicide on pathogens. This product will allow the replacement of current products or the reduction of their dose or their application frequency.

To reach this target, this study will be divided into 4 parts:

1. Development and validation of a quick screening method of fungal organisms and isolation of their effective microbial filtrate/mash in the control of telluric/aerial pathogens (WP1)

Material: Four main pathogens of potato will be considered like proof of concept:
i. Fungus Rhizoctonia solani
ii. Bacteria Ralstonia solanacearum
iii. Oomycete Phytophthora infestans
iv. Nematode Globodera rostochiensis

v. One AMF

vi. A collection of beneficial telluric fungi

Analyses:
i. Confrontation tests


2. Bio-encapsulation of microbial filtrate/mash with biofungicide activity on telluric/aerial pathogen and biostimulant activity on beneficial microorganisms (i.e. arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi-AMF) (WP2).

a. Bio-compatibility of bio-fungicidal molecules and beneficial microorganisms
b. Bio-stimulation on the growth and root colonization of AMF

3. Determination of mechanisms involved in the bio-compatibility/bio-stimulation of AMF

4. Impact on the severity of diseases in controlled conditions and in situ (WP4)

For this position, the knowledge of French is an asset and the knowledge of English is essential.