Living yeast-based biostimulants: different genes for the same results?

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Biology
• Microbiology

Background:

• The plant biostimulant market offers diverse products, including living yeast-based options.
• The living nature of yeast biostimulants necessitates investigation into the reproducibility of their effects for user confidence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effects of a living yeast biostimulant on soybean plants across two distinct cultivation conditions.
• To assess the reproducibility of the biostimulant's impact on plant gene expression and key biological pathways.

Main Methods:

• Soybean cultures (C1 and C2) were established under varied locations and dates, using the same variety and soil.
• Plants were treated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum and subjected to seed treatment with or without the yeast biostimulant.
• Foliar transcriptomic analysis was employed to examine gene expression patterns.

Main Results:

• Initial transcriptomic analysis revealed significant gene expression differences between the two soybean cultures (C1 and C2).
• Despite differing gene expression, the yeast biostimulant reproducibly enhanced similar biological pathways in both cultures.
• Key impacted pathways included abiotic stress tolerance and cell wall/carbohydrate synthesis.

Conclusions:

• The living yeast biostimulant demonstrates reproducible effects on specific plant pathways, enhancing abiotic stress tolerance and carbohydrate synthesis.
• This suggests the biostimulant can protect soybean plants from environmental stresses and improve sugar levels.
• Further research can validate these findings and optimize the application of yeast biostimulants in agriculture.