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An 8-week summer research experience for undergraduates was developed at Utah State University to train participants in nanotechnology and microbiome engineering approaches that the participants applied to improve plant resilience to stress and enhance food production. Nine participants from two-year colleges serving predominantly Native American and Hispanic populations were recruited with the aim of providing these students the confidence, skills, and passion for life-long learning to complete a four-year STEM degree and beyond. An interdisciplinary approach introduced students to nanotechnology, plant-microbiome functioning, and soilless growth platforms, demonstrating needs for diversity in skills and teamwork in solving problems. Six weeks of guided research modules were followed by student-designed projects conducted as small groups. Students synthesized and characterized nanoparticles, assessed mechanical properties of plants, isolated endophytic bacteria from wheat seed, and assessed the plant-protective properties imparted by the endophyte contrasted with a known root-colonizing beneficial microbe. Distinct responses of the two microbes to metal oxide nanoparticles having micronutrient and pesticide applications in agriculture demonstrated that nano-formulations may rapidly shift microbial populations based on susceptibility to nanoparticles / released ions. Participants gained a broad overview of nanotechnology and microbiome engineering as sustainable approaches for advancing plant productivity and agriculture under abiotic stress.
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Overview and recommendations for research on plants and microbes in regolith-based agriculture
Abstract The domestication of agriculture is widely recognized as one of the most crucial technological adaptations for the transition of humanity from hunter-and-gatherer groups into early city-states and ultimately, complex civilizations. As humankind sets forth to permanently establish itself on the Moon and use it as a testing ground to colonize other worlds, like Mars, agriculture will again play a pivotal role. In this case, the development of sustainable crop production systems capable of succeeding in these harsh environments becomes vital to the success of our star-faring journey. Over decades, studies varying in species and approaches have been conducted in microgravity, testing the limits of plants and various growth systems, to better understand how Earth-based agriculture could be translated into environmental conditions and therefore evolutionary pressures beyond what life on our planet has known. While we have passed several significant milestones, we are still far from the goal of a sustainable agricultural system beyond our planet Regolith-based agriculture (RBA) should be a component of sustainable agriculture solutions beyond Earth, one which can also provide insight into plant growth in poor soils across our own world. However, RBA studies are in their infancy and, like any other new field, need an established set of parameters to be followed by the RBA community so the generated data can be standardized and validated. Here, we provide an extensive multi-disciplinary review of the state of RBA, outline important knowledge gaps, and propose a set of standardized methods and benchmarks for regolith simulant development and selection as well as plant, microbe, and plant-microbe interaction studies conducted in lunar and Martian regolith. Our goal is to spur dialog within the RBA community on proper regolith simulant selection, experimental design, and reporting. Our methods are divided into complexity tiers, providing a clear path for even the simplest experiments to contribute to the bulk of the knowledge that will shape the future of RBA science and see it mature as an integrated part of sustainable off-world agriculture.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2223829
- PAR ID:
- 10611908
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- npj Sustainable Agriculture
- Volume:
- 2
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2731-9202
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-024-00013-5
