2023 article

Evaluation of ready-to-use freezer stocks of a synthetic microbial community for maize root colonization

Parnell, J. J., Vintila, S., Tang, C., Wagner, M. R., & Kleiner, M. (2023, December 12). (K. L. Hockett, Ed.). MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM, Vol. 12.

By: J. Parnell  n, S. Vintila n, C. Tang n, M. Wagner * & M. Kleiner n 

author keywords: Synthetic communities; maize; root colonization; plant-microbe interactions; plant microbiome; SynCom
topics (OpenAlex): Nematode management and characterization studies; Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis; Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity
TL;DR: Comparing the reproducibility, stability, and colonization ability of freshly prepared versus frozen SynCom inocula shows that ready-to-use SynCom stocks provide comparable results to those of freshly constructed SynCom and thus allow for significant time savings when working with SynComs. (via Semantic Scholar)
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Synthetic communities (SynComs) are an invaluable tool to characterize and model plant-microbe interactions. Multimember SynComs approximate intricate real-world interactions between plants and their microbiome, but the complexity and time required for their construction increase enormously for each additional member added to the SynCom. Therefore, researchers who study a diversity of microbiomes using SynComs are looking for ways to simplify the use of SynComs. In this manuscript, we evaluate the feasibility of creating ready-to-use freezer stocks of a well-studied seven-member SynCom for maize roots. The frozen ready-to-use SynCom stocks work according to the principle of "just add buffer and apply to sterilized seeds or seedlings" and thus can save time applied in multiple days of laborious growing and combining of multiple microorganisms. We show that ready-to-use SynCom stocks provide comparable results to those of freshly constructed SynComs and thus allow for significant time savings when working with SynComs.