Methods for improving the ability of a population of biological agents to compete and survive in a field setting are provided. The modified population of agents is able to grow, compete with other microbial strains and fungi, and provide protection for plants from pathogens. Modified biological agents and modified populations of such agents that are herbicide tolerant or resistant are selected or engineered. In this manner, the protection from disease-causing agents is enhanced. Such modified populations can be added to soils to prevent fungal pathogens and associated diseases, promoting plant growth. The present invention is useful for enhancing the competitiveness of modified biological agents particularly over other microbial agents which are not herbicide resistant. Compositions include selected or engineered herbicide resistant biological agents and modified populations of biocontrol agents. These modified biological agents can be used as an inoculant or as a seed coating for plants and seeds.

Provided herein are methods of production of recombinant E. coli asparaginase. Methods herein allow production of asparaginase in Pseudomonadales host cells at high expression levels and having activity comparable to commercially available asparaginase preparations.

Novel strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens are disclosed. Several novel mutated strains of Pseudomonads are engineered by repetitive culturing of a parent strain under stressed conditions. Various enriched populations are screened and ranked based on relative performance indices including viable cell yield during growth, efficacy in suppression of dry rot disease, cell growth recovery after dry storage and resistance to switchgrass hydrolysate.

The present invention refers to an agricultural composition that comprises a mixture of Azospirillum brasilense and Pseudomonas fluorescens in a single commercial inoculant product that promotes increased stability and cellular viability due to the synergism between these microorganisms, and which surprisingly increases the shelf-life achieved by a differentiated industrial process. The industrial process of the mixture of Azospirillum and Pseudomonas as product inoculant plant growth promoting is composed by steps of: (a) fermentation of the microorganisms to obtain an agricultural composition with plant growth promotion action through biological mechanisms to fix nitrogen, biosynthesis of auxins, siderophores and solubilization of phosphorus; (b) stabilization of the product biotechnological inoculant composed by the mixture of Azospirillum and Pseudomonas in a technical solution that enables the mixture of the parts, presented in a single package. The synergism demonstrated is mainly connected to (i) the high production of EPS by Azospirillum which is consumed by Pseudomonas as energy source and (ii) to the production of organic acids by Pseudomonas which enables the maintenance of cellular viability of the Azospirillum.

Provided herein are methods of production of recombinant Erwinia asparaginase. Methods herein produce asparaginase having high expression levels in the periplasm or the cytoplasm of the host cell having activity comparable to commercially available asparaginase preparations.

Endophytic bacteria, compositions comprising the same, and methods of use thereof are disclosed which increase the root and shoot growth of grass hosts, suppress growth of soil borne fungal pathogens of host plants, increase resistance of the grass to diseases and reduce competitiveness of distantly related competitor weeds of the crop.

The invention relates to the use of bacterial lipopeptide biosurfactants in the treatment of white spot disease in fresh water and marine fish. Particularly useful for treatment of white spot disease are viscosin-like lipopeptide biosurfactants obtainable from the Pseudomonas fluorescens strain H6, massetolide or a derivative thereof and putisolvin or a derivative thereof.

This invention consists of a consortium of plant-growth promoting microorganisms including Pseudomonas stutzeri, Pseudomonas denitrificans, Pseudomonas resinovorans, Pseudomonas brassicacearum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Shimwellia blattae and Klebsiella oxytoca. The bacterial consortium along with a vehicle suitable for agricultural application, form a biofertilizer useful to enhance agricultural yield when applied to cultivation plants. The biofertilizer described present a long shelf life and preserve a high cell density along the time.

The present disclosure provides agricultural compositions and methods of using these compositions to increase plant growth, pathogen resistance and drought tolerance. The agricultural compositions disclosed herein comprise mixtures of mutualistic beneficial fungi such as Laccaria bicolor and Piriformispora indica, and bacterial strains of Pseudomonas.

Provided herein are methods of production of recombinant E. coli asparaginase. Methods herein allow production of asparaginase in Pseudomonadales host cells at high expression levels and having activity comparable to commercially available asparaginase preparations.