The UK Crop Microbiome Cryobank, A utility to support Phytobiomes Research
January 25, 2024
Location
Zoom
Presenters
Matthew J. Ryan, CABI, UK
Tim Mauchline, Rothamsted Research, UK
Nicola Holden, Scotland’s Rural College, UK
Jacob Malone, John Innes Centre, UK
Outline
The UK Crop Microbiome Cryobank, A utility to support Phytobiomes Research
Culture collections, involving the accession and supply of microorganisms in pure culture, have long supported microbiological research. But how can collections and biobanks in association with data networks support and underpin the ever-evolving fields of microbiome and phytobiomes research? This is just one question we will be addressing in our webinar, using the example of the UK Crop Microbiome Cryobank, a project seeking to preserve, characterize and utilize the microbiota associated with 6 key crops – wheat, barley, fava bean, oat, oil seed rape (canola) & sugar beet. We will discuss
i) how you can preserve a ‘microbiome’ and the methodologies applied to conserve functional potential and ensure sample integrity,
ii) the benefits of building a focussed, utilisable resource,
iii) how we add value through genomic characterisation and analysis,
iv) how we share data to our user community and link it to EBI resources such as MGnify through http://AgMicrobiomeBase.org and
v) how we are utilising the resource as a blueprint to develop sustainable Nature-Based interventions for crop health.
Finally, we will discuss how the model used for biobanking can be expanded to other crop types and holobiont systems, and how a biobanking approach is essential not only for industrial and academic research but also for capturing biodiversity to allow for future mitigation against climate change.