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Programmable design of seed coating function induces water-stress tolerance in semi-arid regions

Nature Food volume 2, pages 485–493 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

In semi-arid regions, water stress during seed germination and early seedling growth is the highest cause of crop loss. In nature, some seeds (for example, chia and basil) produce a mucilage-based hydrogel that creates a germination-promoting microenvironment by retaining water, regulating nutrient entry and facilitating interactions with beneficial microorganisms. Inspired by this strategy, a two-layered biopolymer-based seed coating has been developed to increase germination and water-stress tolerance in semi-arid, sandy soils. Seeds are coated with a silk/trehalose inner layer containing rhizobacteria and a pectin/carboxymethylcellulose outer layer that reswells upon sowing and acts as a water jacket. Using Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) cultured under water-stress conditions in an experimental farm in Ben Guerir, Morocco, the proposed seed coating effectively delivered rhizobacteria to form root nodules, resulted in plants with better health and mitigated water stress in drought-prone marginal lands. A programmable seed coating technology has the potential to increase seed germination and water-stress tolerance in semi-arid, sandy soils.

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Fig. 1: Material design, fabrication and selection.
Fig. 2: Mechanical characterization of P:C hydrogels.
Fig. 3: Use of P:C hydrogels as niche to grow R. tropici post rehydration.
Fig. 4: Degradation of seed coating material in soil and application to P. vulgaris to mitigate water stress.

Data availability

All relevant data are included in the article, Supplementary Information and in the Source Data files. All the other raw data are available from the authors upon request. Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge M. Lara for R. tropici CIAT 899-GFP from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, OCP S.A. and the Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique–MIT Research Program. This work was partially supported by the Office of Naval Research (Award No. N000141812258), the National Science Foundation (Award No. CMMI‐1752172) and the MIT Paul M. Cook Career Development Professorship. Schematics in Fig. 1a,b were created with BioRender.com.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Augustine T. Zvinavashe, Julie Laurent.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Augustine T. Zvinavashe, Julie Laurent, Hui Sun, Henri Manu Effa Fouda, Doyoon Kim & Benedetto Marelli

  2. AgroBiosciences Department (AgBS), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben-Guerir, Morocco

    Manal Mhada, Salma Mouhib & Lamfeddal Kouisni

  3. African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (ASARI-UM6P), Laayoune, Morocco

    Lamfeddal Kouisni

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Contributions

A.T.Z., J.L., M.M., B.M. and L.K. designed the study. A.T.Z., J.L., M.M., H.S., S.M., D.K. and H.M.E.F. collected and analysed the data. All authors contributed to the discussion and interpretation of the results. The manuscript was drafted by A.T.Z., J.L., H.S., M.M, L.K and B.M. and reviewed and approved by the other authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benedetto Marelli.

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Competing interests

B.M. and A.T.Z. are co-inventors in a patent application (US Patent application no. 63/036,088) that describes the coating technology reported in this study. B.M. is co-founder of Mori, Inc., a company that develops silk-based edible coatings to extend the shelf life of food. All other authors have no competing interests.

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Peer review information Nature Food thanks David Britt, Haihua Xiao and Maximino Manzanera for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

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Supplementary Figs. 1–7, Table 1 and Methods.

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Zvinavashe, A.T., Laurent, J., Mhada, M. et al. Programmable design of seed coating function induces water-stress tolerance in semi-arid regions. Nat Food 2, 485–493 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00315-8

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