Objectives of the IMPACT Project

The IMPACT project is a cost-shared generic research project funded by the European Community Biotechnology Programme (EC DGXII) in the area of ecological implications of biotechnology. The IMPACT acronym stands for "Interactions between Microbial inoculants and resident Populations in the rhizosphere of Agronomically important Crops in Typical soils". The overall objective of the project is to assess the ecological impact of microbial inoculants on key biological components of the rhizosphere following the introduction of wild-type or genetically modified microbial inoculants.

In keeping with the demand for more integrated and sustainable approaches for food production, the IMPACT project is evaluating the combined use of microbial biofertilizers and biopesticides under field conditions. Microbial pesticides are being evaluated not only for their impact on the resident microbiota but also for their possible interactions with microbial biofertilizers eg. rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi. The project focuses also on developing a better understanding of the molecular ecology of genetically-modified bacteria in rhizosphere ecosystems. The effect of genetically-modified inoculants on crops and the resident microbiota is being compared to that of wild-type strains with the objective to improve our knowledge on the safe use of genetically-modified microorganisms.

The IMPACT project is providing the impetus to enhance research on the molecular ecology of microorganisms in general and will materialise in important new knowledge that will be of use to European scientists and regulators; for example, provide a base line to assess the effect of transgenic crops in the soil microflora.

Furthermore, IMPACT is providing information and technologies that are of considerable benefit for the commercial use of microorganisms in several areas of biotechnology. For instance, the identification and tracking methods developed within IMPACT will be useful in the medical area, e.g. to monitor the presence of disease-causing bacteria in patients with chronic infections and the risk of cross-infection between hospitalised patients; in the food industry, e.g. to detect food pathogens.

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