Startup brings to Brazil unprecedented technology for soil genetic analysis

The soil microbial community is of fundamental importance for plant development. In agricultural production, in addition to contributing to the structuring of the soil, microorganisms interact directly with the plant's root system, assisting in the supply of nutrients, protection against diseases, increased resilience and modulation of plant growth. Thus, the more these microorganisms are known, the more efficient is the management of the use of inputs and the result in crop productivity. A new technology promises to scan these organisms to assist in the decision making of Brazilian farmers. The startup Biome4All is commercializing Agri-Analysis in Brazil, a platform that analyzes the DNA of bacteria and fungi present in the soil and, from this information, it is possible establish soil quality parameters and infer agricultural productivity and risks to biosafety.

It is an innovative tool for the analysis of DNA sequencing data from microbiomes and, through the correlation of this information with parameters of productivity and environmental quality, made by the partner companies Andrios and DSMA, they can assist the producer or companies in decision-making in the field.

According to Dr. Cristiane Andreote, director of Andrios, this information makes up a set of data that support the technical analysis of soil samples, both for development projects and to assist companies and producers in the validation of management and application of products, confirming the improvements caused in soil microbiology.

Another application of this new technology is the risk assessment of genetically modified plants on non-target organisms. “This analysis, which uses knowledge of microbiology and molecular biology, has been used by companies that seek to carry out the commercial registration of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that can interact with the soil microbiome, as this diagnosis is essential to assess the biosafety of their release into the environment”, affirms Marília Bixilia Sanchez, scientific director of the DSMA.

According to Marcus Adonai Castro da Silva, co-founder of Biome4all, the new tool consists of identifying genes present in these microorganisms and based on this information, locating the important functions associated with productivity. “With this data, more than 9,000 relevant functional genes are evaluated, generating a genetic profile of the soil community. This information is compared with a database of soil microorganisms associated with the target crop, showing, in a ranked way, whether the community in your sample has little or much for that particular set of relevant genes”, he explains. In addition, according to Dr. Cristiane, this soil function, represented by its gene set, is responsible for nutrient cycling and, consequently, for crop productivity.

Through this tool, it is also possible to compare the community present in areas under different cultivation conditions or using different inputs. “In addition, we have the possibility to monitor the evolution of the community over the years and to compare samples from different regions. As an example, when evaluating a soil sample associated with grape production, it was possible to compare it with data from Napa Valley (USA), Barossa Valley (Australia) and Rioja (Spain), showing common bacterial taxonomic groups”, says Silva.