BENEFICIAL WHEAT ROOT-COLONIZING BACTERIA RESPONSES TO ABIOTIC STRESSES: BIOFILM ARCHITECTURE AND OUTER MEMBRANE VESICLE ROLES IN PLANT HEALTH.

Objective 1: Employ a root mimetic system and quantify the effects of a plant watering status and NP stress on PcO6 biofilm architecture. An arrayed hollow fiber platform will be developed in the first six months. The artificial root exudates (AREs) that feed into the root-mimetic will be defined during this time period as well.Objective 2: Isolate outer membrane vesicles and test their roles in the rhizosphere through application to planktonic and biofilm PcO6 cultures. OMV isolation through standard gradient ultracentrifugation will be conducted during year-1, with additional isolation processes advanced in year-2, including tangential flow filtration, to improve OMV yields.Objective 3: Isolate outer membrane vesicles and test their roles in the rhizosphere through application to wheat (Triticum aestivum, var. Juniper). This objective will be conducted once OMV isolation processes are advanced and yields are scaled up to provide sufficient OMV quantify for delivery into the rhizosphere. It is anticipated that this will yield fundamental insight into inter-kingdom signaling between rhizo-colonizing bacteria at the plant host.