Project title: Harnessing mycorrhizas from Latvian soils for crop optimization and development of new microbiological preparations (MYCO-PREP)

Project No.: 1.1.1.3/1./24/A/054

Period: 1st June 2025 – 31 May 2028

Project costs: 656 455 EUR

Principal Investigator: Dr. biol. Zigmunds Orlovskis

Cooperation partner: Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics, SIA “BIOEFEKTS”

Rationale: Innovative agricultural technologies serve as a cornerstone for increasing the productivity and competitiveness in the agricultural sector. This involves the adoption of integrated and sustainable methods to enhance crop yields, minimizing the use of imported synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and replacing them with alternative solutions. Utilization of beneficial soil microorganisms is one of the foundations for the development of such alternatives. Mycorrhizal fungi are ubiquitous in soils and associate with majority of plant species and therefore could play a central role in future crop optimization strategies. Mycorrhizae represent symbiotic relationships between plant roots and soil fungi, aiding plants in the absorption of water and minerals while providing protection against pests and diseases. The commercial application of mycorrhiza in crop production is an active area of research and gaining an increasing market share globally. However, locally sourced and adapted as well as crop-specific and efficacy-tested mycorrhizal products are not yet available in Latvian market or most regions in the world.

MYCO-PREP project brings together broad scientific expertise from the Plant-Microbe Interactions research group led by Dr. Zigmunds Orlovskis (Molecular Ecology and Biosystems Research division at the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre), specialists in microbial product development and production – our commercial partner company SIA Bioefekts – and the experts in crop cultivation technologies from the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics (AREI). We also benefit from the expertise on mycorrhizal genetics from our external consultant and long-term collaborator Dr. Soon-Jae Lee (Lausanne University, Switzerland). The project aims to explore the environmental diversity of mycorrhizae in Latvian arable soils and assess the impact of new mycorrhizal isolates on the performance and yields of cereals, legumes, herbs and tuber crops through controlled glasshouse experiments.

Project goal:

The primary goal of the project is to characterize the diversity of endemic mycorrhizal fungi found in Latvian soils through NGS sequencing and create collection of new mycorrhizal isolates for assessing their efficacy in increasing crop productivity and the potential for developing novel commercial plant growth promoting products in the future.

Key Objectives and Activities:

1. Soil Sampling and isolation of mycorrhizal fungi: Collect soil samples from various agricultural regions in Latvia and isolate mycorrhizal spores through soil fractionation and sucrose density gradient columns.
2. Mycorrhizal Identification and community characterisation: extract fungal DNA from environmental and spore samples to identify the mycorrhizal community structure and diversity using molecular (ITS) sequencing techniques.
3. Mycorrhizal culturing: in vitro cultivation with D. carota hairy roots to establish a collection of Latvian mycorrhizal fungi for future functional experiments in laboratory and glasshouse.
4. Isolate evaluation for crop optimization: test the properties of the isolated mycorrhizal fungi in enhancing crop yields and compare with the effects of existing commercial products containing plant growth promoting bacteria or fungi under different levels of mineral fertilizer application. This will evaluate the potential of different microbial products for enhancing plant nutrient use efficiency and for reducing fertilizer applications. Complimentary bioassays will evaluate pathogen resistance of mycorrhiza-inoculated crops to assess the potential for reducing pesticide applications.

Expected Results:

1. Characterization of yet unexplored mycorrhizal diversity: The MYCO-PREP project will significantly advance the characterization of endemic mycorrhizal fungal diversity in Latvia and test an innovative methodology for their laboratory cultivation in carrot hairy root system, which has been previously applied in other collaborative projects between Dr. Soon-Jae Lee and Dr. Orlovskis research groups.
2. Prospective microbial preparation prototypes for crop growth promotion and protection: assessing the impact of mycorrhizal species isolated from Latvian soils on the productivity of diverse crop species (winter wheat, leeks, peas, and potatoes) and their nutrient use efficiency in comparison with existing microbial biostimulants produced by our commercial partner Bioefekts (B.subtilis and Trichoderma spp.), incl. testing potential additive or synergistic effects of microbial mixtures on plant growth yields and pathogen tolerance.

Information published 02.06.2025.