One application of root-colonising Pseudomonas sp. strain CT 364, as a proposed chassis endophyte, was to produce the naturally-occurring chemical, naringenin, in and around plant roots. The substance, as demonstrated in our laboratory (link), attracts free-living nitrogen fixing bacteria. Under the right conditions, this would benefit the plant by increasing nitrogen availability, and possibly reduce the need for synthetic nitrogen fertiliser use.

In the lab, we demonstrated that Pseudomonas sp. was a genetically tractable chassis organism, and that it could be used to colonise Arabidopsis roots. Based on this evidence, we propose that plant roots, colonised with Pseudomas sp. expressing an operon with genes for naringenin biosynthesis, would create a naringenin concentration gradient in the surrounding soil environment. To provide an early insight into the effect that naringenin production would have on the surrounding microbial community, and to provide visualisations for the public, we developed the microbial community modelling to imitate what is happening in the soil around the colonised root.