Dr Naresh Kumar
Department of Biochemistry
Faculty of Science
M.S. University of Baroda
India
Our group will focus on enhancing plant growth and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by engineering rhizobia to solubilise phosphate. Plant growth and nitrogen fixation are often limited by the supply of phosphate, which may be abundant in soil but is bound in inaccessible forms. However, secretion of organic acids can lead to solubilisation of phosphate with large gains in nitrogen fixation and plant growth. Previously, several enzyme systems have been developed to enhance phosphate solubilisation and we propose to use synthetic biology to engineer them into cassettes for expression in a wide range of bacteria, including rhizobia.
IUNFC 