MOSCOW, August 15 Russian scientists have discovered that some bacteria can be used to treat wheat seeds to improve their resistance to toxic pesticides, the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) reported.
As explained to the agency by the Russian Science Foundation, when growing most agricultural crops, including wheat, pesticides are widely used — chemical compounds that help get rid of insect pests, fungal diseases and weeds. However, pesticides also have a negative impact on the plants themselves, which they are supposed to protect. In particular, under their influence, the work of mitochondria — the «power stations» of living cells — is disrupted in plants, which leads to a deterioration in the respiration process and oxidative stress. Therefore, scientists are looking for safe and effective alternatives to pesticides.
Employees of the Voronezh State University (Voronezh) and the Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Rostov-on-Don), as part of a project supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, have determined that soil bacteria of the genus Azospirillum can partially neutralize the toxic effects of pesticides. The authors chose these microorganisms for the study because, as has been shown previously, they increase the productivity of wheat and its resistance to adverse conditions. This effect occurs because Azospirillum bacteria synthesize polysaccharides necessary for plants, regulate the production of phytohormones important for growth and volatile compounds that protect plants from pests.
During the experiments, it was found that plants treated with bacteria and pesticides almost did not lag behind untreated wheat in growth.
«Despite the emerging global trend towards «green biotechnology», it is too early to say that in the next decade there will be a complete rejection of the use of chemical pesticides, since food security worldwide depends on them. For this reason, it is important to develop approaches to minimizing the damage that pesticides cause to agricultural crops themselves. The results obtained are not only of fundamental but also of practical importance, since they can help in the development of new biopreparations that can increase yields and improve the resistance of wheat to the effects of pesticides,» said the project manager, Associate Professor of the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Physiology at Voronezh State University Maria Gureeva, whose words are quoted in the message.