High-Throughput Sequencing as a Tool for the Quality Control of Microbial Bioformulations for Agriculture

Microbial bioformulations, due to their positive impact on the growth and development of plants, as well as the absence of harmful effects on the environment and humans, have a vast potential for mass introduction into agriculture. Assessing the quality of bioformulations, especially complex ones, is a difficult task. In this study, we show that high-throughput sequencing can be an effective tool for the quality control and safety of microbial bioformulations. By the method of high-throughput sequencing on the MiSeq platform, we studied 20 samples of commercially available microbial bioformulations. In parallel with this, bioformulations were studied by classical microbiological methods. The analysis showed the presence of extraneous undeclared bacterial genera by the manufacturer. Only 10% of the bioformulations fully corresponded to the commercial composition, and another 10% of the bioformulations did not contain the bacteria declared by the manufacturer in their composition at all. The bacterial composition of 80% of the bioformulations partially corresponded to the composition indicated on the package. The most frequent microbial bioformulations contaminants were Enterococcus, Lactobacillaceae, Klebsiella, Escherichia-Shigella and Allorhizobium-Neorhizobium-Pararhizobium-Rhizobium. Universal methods for the quality control of bioformulations are needed. The advantages of high-throughput sequencing for the evaluation of bioformulations are considered in this work.