Numerous bacterial strains in the rhizosphere secrete an array of volatile compounds (VOCs). Many of these are vital for inter and intra-kingdom signaling, which result in interactions between pathogenic, mutualistic or neutral rhizosphere inhabitants including bacteria, plants, protists, fungi and more.

Many volatile compounds have direct beneficial effects on plants, including increased leaf biomass and area, facilitation of plant root elongation and secondary root proliferation. Some volatile compounds also antagonize various plant pathogens including fungi, bacteria and nematodes.

In this study, I plan to identify plant growth promotion mechanisms stimulated by novel VOCs produced by soil and rhizosphere bacteria. I developed several model plant systems for screening impact of volatile compounds produced by different bacterial strains on plant performance indices, and calibrated the optimal growth conditions for volatile compound production in several selected bacterial strains.

 
In the next steps of this work I plan to identify specific bacterial volatile compounds that promote plant growth, identify the bacterial biosynthesis pathways of these compounds and understand their mechanism of action in the plant. Also, I plan to test a variety of the identified novel VOCs as growth promoting agents in known plant models and subsequently, elucidate the interactions between plants and beneficial bacteria.