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PROOF OF CONCEPT

NanoCroptective: A precise and versatile nanotechnology with seed
bio-stimulant microbial molecules to potentiate crop growth and
immunization.

PI: Diego Romero
Budget: 150.000€
ERC-2022-PoC2. 2023-2024

Seed germination is the first step of a sequence of events that promote the transit of seeds from dormancy to vegetative growth. The emergency provoked by continuous deterioration of the environment due to non-respectful crop management strategies and potentiated with climate change has increased the focus on this primordial stage of the plant growth as a primary target of strategies that help mitigating unsustainable issues. Supported by our findings on the mutualistic interaction microbe-seed, in this project we propose a precise and customizable strategy based on the use of bacterial derived small molecules, and a fine-tuned nanotechnology platform to improve and increase the mobilization of seed nutrients. Altogether our methodology should serve to improve the credibility of biological solutions as potent bio-stimulant of seed growth and thus potentiate their inclusion in sustainable programs of crop production and protection.