Microorganisms will play a significant role in the agricultural revolution in the coming decades and help meet the growing population's needs. Hence, understanding the impact of beneficial bacteria on crop development is key to the future of developing microbial products. The ability of PGPB to increase crop yields has been recently investigated in agriculture, as PGPB can support and protect plants under different stresses. Since PGPB interactions occur naturally, finding a method to apply beneficial bacteria while maintaining their efficiency and quality is a topic of interest. PGPB have been used as microbial inoculants, biofertilizers, and also as seed coatings. Preservation of microorganisms through desiccation has been used as the preferred method for long-term storage of microbial culture. The use of dry powders is favored over liquid cultures due to their ease of transportation and better quality control. For microbial preservation, freeze-drying has been defined as the most convenient and satisfactory preservation method for long-term storage. Freeze-drying is generally preferred over other drying techniques as it gives a high-quality dehydrated product. However, to reach a high-quality product, many parameters need to be monitored, such as bacterial cell concentration, growth medium, lyophilization buffer, rehydration, and duration of freeze-drying. In this research, SA190 was freeze-dried with 10% sucrose mixed with 5% trehalose as lyophilization buffer. Pseudomonas argentinensis SA190 was isolated from the root nodules of the desert plant Indigofera argentae in Saudi Arabia, specifically Jizan. The SA190 freeze-dried product was examined by several tests to assess the product viability and quality, such as accelerated test and water stability test. For future work, the effect of freeze-dried SA190 on plant growth and crop yield will be investigated. Moreover, optimization of the freeze-drying process, formulation, and packaging for commercial will be considered. In addition, bacterial strains isolated in DARWIN21 project with promising effects on plant growth, will be subjected to freeze-drying process.

Drought and salt stress are the main global factors that reduce the average yield of most major crops. In order to meet global demands, we will need to double food production by 2050 (Tilman, Balzer, Hill, & Befort, 2011). Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are a group of bacteria that alleviate the harmful effects of abiotic stresses such as salt, heat and drought stress on plants and decrease the global dependence on hazardous agricultural chemicals. We identified that beneficial microbes isolated from desert plants (indigfera argentea) from Jizan region, in 2012 enhance the tolerance of a variety of crop plants to drought and salt stresses under laboratory conditions and in field trials. We analyzed the interaction of these bacteria with the plants by genetic, biochemical and imaging techniques. The goal of this dissertation is to ultimately improve our understanding of the mechanisms of drought and salt stress tolerance conferred by beneficial microbes that can be used as a sustainable solution for plants and crops in degrading lands (deserts) and land affected by abiotic stresses. Outlines how each of chapter of this dissertation will contribute to the discovery of novel drought and salt stress tolerance strategies using a desert-specific bacterial endophyte.

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På pappersmaskin 11 i Hallsta pappersbruk tillverkas högglansigt papper som bleks med väteperoxid. Om väteperoxiden som finns kvar efter blekningen, kallat restperoxid, kommer ut på pappersmaskinen sliter detta på termovalsarna, vilket påverkar slutprodukten. Det finns en bakteriekultur på bruket, bestående av släktet Tepidiphilus som bryter ner väteperoxiden med hjälp av katalas och hindrar den från att komma ut på maskinen. Om bakterierna slås ut, av exempelvis ogynnsamma förhållanden, märks detta genom att restperoxiden ökar. Målet med detta arbete är att försöka identifiera vilka faktorer som påverkar bakterierna och lägga fram ett förslag för hur man kan förhindra uppkomsten av restperoxid. För att utföra detta användes i första hand principalkomponentanalys, samt så studerades hur olika faktorer förändrades i förhållanden till uppkomsten av restperoxid. Ett antal parametrar kunde identifieras baserat på tillgängliga data. Dock kan inga absoluta slutsatser dras då det inte går att bekräfta några teorier med labbförsök eller genom att manipulera processen. De parametrar som tros ha störst påverkan är mek. renat färg, rest-aluminium, grumlighet, manganhalten i vatten, pH för kar K0203, returmälden samt inloppslådan och klorhalterna som uppmätts för mek. renat total klor, RVV1 fri klor, varmvatten total klor och mek. renat fri klor. Dessa parametrar bör därför övervakas framåt, och kan i det fall att restperoxid återigen uppkommer antingen bekräftas eller dementeras deras faktiska påverkan och samspel för bakteriernas välmående. / Paper machine 11 in Hallsta paper mill produces high-gloss paper that is bleached with hydrogen peroxide. If the hydrogen peroxide that remains after the bleaching, called residual peroxide, gets out on the paper machine, this wears down the thermal rollers, which affects the final product.  There is a bacterial culture at the mill, consisting of the genus Tepidiphilus, which breaks down the hydrogen peroxide with the help of catalase and prevents it from getting out to the machine. If the bacteria are killed, for example by unfavourable conditions, this is noticeable by an increase in residual peroxide. The goal of this project is to try to identify which factors affect the bacteria and put forward a proposal for how to prevent the occurrence of residual peroxide. To carry this out, principal component analysis was primarily used, and how different factors changed in relation to the appearance of residual peroxide was studied. Several parameters could be identified based on the available data. However, no conclusive conclusions could be drawn as it is not possible to confirm any theories with lab tests or by manipulating the process. The parameters believed to have the greatest influence are coloration of mechanically cleaned water (mech. water), residual aluminium, turbidity, manganese content of the water, pH for tank K0203, the returning pulp suspension as well as the headbox and the chlorine levels for mech. water total chlorine, RVV1 free chlorine, hot water total chlorine and mech. water free chlorine. These parameters should therefore be monitored going forward, and if residual peroxide occurs again, their possible interactions and actual impact on the well-being of the bacteria can either be confirmed or denied

<p>  </p> <p>Plant roots form an intimate relationship with a diversity of soil microorganisms. Some soil-borne microbes cause harmful diseases on crops, but others promote plant growth and enhance host resilience against stressors. Beneficial bacteria have a high potential as a strategy for sustainable agricultural management, many of which have been recognized and commercialized for improving crop growth. Unfortunately, field inoculants of beneficial bacteria often give inconsistent results due to various environmental factors hindering their beneficial properties. Improving crop production utilizing beneficial bacteria requires two approaches: 1) breeding for crops with the enhanced association for beneficial bacteria and 2) improving formulation methods for producing more potent microbial products. To contribute to these goals, we address three critical questions utilizing the tomato root microbiome as a model system. First, we asked how beneficial root-associated bacteria could be efficiently identified. We developed a strategy to select beneficial bacteria from a novel collection of 183 bacterial endophytes isolated from roots of two field-grown tomato species. The results suggest that isolates with similar traits impact plant growth at the same levels, regardless of their taxonomic classification or host origin. Next, we asked whether host genetics contribute to the root microbiome assembly and response to beneficial microbes. An assessment of the root microbiome profile and plant binary interaction experiments suggested the role of host genetics in influencing root recruitment and response to beneficial bacteria. Subsequently, we asked whether root-associated bacteria induce physiological changes in root tissues in the host. We identified two isolates from our bacterial endophyte collection that significantly promoted the growth of tomato genotype H7996 (<em>Solanum lycopersicum</em>). Plant-binary interaction experiments suggested a significant increase of cell wall lignification in the root vasculature starting 96-hour post-inoculation with beneficial bacteria. Additional studies are needed to uncover a possible correlation between the induced vasculature lignification and the growth-promoting effects of the two isolates on H7996. Altogether, our findings highlight the multi-faceted role of root-associated bacteria in promoting plant growth and support the development of crop improvement strategies in optimizing host association with soil bacteria.</p>