Use of Rhizopine Biosensors
Agriculture is an important area that ensures the economy and growth of many countries worldwide. In this regard, the well-being and proper care they can provide to the plants they grow is essential for many people. Farm enterprises can often use various chemical fertilizers to increase the quality and quantity of the crop. However, they have drawbacks, such as potential harm to human health. One of the new and safer solutions that can help agriculture is using rhizoplane biosensors for plant-dependent control of bacterial gene expression.
Small molecules – rhizopine can be produced by some plants and absorbed by bacteria that live in their roots. These bacterial species use rhizopine molecules as an energy source to prolong their existence (Haskett et al., 2023). At the same time, scientists conducted a series of experiments in which it turned out that rhizoplane biosensors can be used to create a specific type of bacteria (Seshadri, 2020). They would act only in the presence of rhizopins, which can be produced only by certain plant species. Thus, scientists concluded that such bacteria could be used to improve the fertility of plants by providing them with protection from parasites and pests. At the same time, this action can be carried out pointwise, allowing it not to affect other plants.
Benefits of Rhizopine Biosensors
A high specificity index is one of the main advantages of rhizopine biosensors. The reaction of biosensors can be configured so that they will only respond to certain rhizopins (Haskett et al., 2021). Since each plant produces different variations of this substance, in this way, it will be possible to set up a more precise effect that, if necessary, will not affect other plantings. This reaction mechanism also allows only certain types of parasites to be affected without harming beneficial plants in the soil.
Another critical advantage of rhizopine biosensors is their level of sensitivity. Targeting biosensors to respond to specific well-defined amounts of rhizopins in soil could help detect lower levels of these molecules in the ground (Haskett et al., 2023). This could allow farmers to pinpoint the exact location of pathogens so they do not need to treat all of their crops. For example, this invention can be used to protect against Pseudomonas syringae pathogens that can be found in alfalfa. Alfalfa is susceptible to infection; without enough, it will be impossible to feed the animals.
Rhizopine biosensors may also help protect rice crops susceptible to Rhizoctonia solani infestation. This pathogen can cause severe disease in rice crops, characterized by a burn of the rice shell (Seshadri, 2020). The consequences of this detrimental impact can be the loss of a significant amount of crops, which is critical in the agricultural industry. Rizopine biosensors can be used in this context to increase the growth of a gene that produces a protein. Since this element harms Rhizoctonia solani, this can solve the problem associated with the infection of this crop.
References
Haskett, T. L., Geddes, B. A., Paramasivan, P., Green, P., Chitnavis, S., Mendes, M. D., Jorrin, B., Knights, H., Bastholm, R., Eamsay, J., Oldroyd, G. & Poole, P. S. (2023). Rhizopine biosensors for plant‐dependent control of bacterial gene expression. Environmental Microbiology, 25(2), 383-396.
Haskett, T. L., Tkacz, A., & Poole, P. S. (2021). Engineering rhizobacteria for sustainable agriculture. The ISME Journal, 15(4), 949-964.
Seshadri, R. (2020). A bacterial toolkit for plants. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 18(3), 124-124.