Kelly Craig

The Effect of Spray Drying on Diversity and Abundance of a Soil Bacterial Community

K. Craig, A. Grunden, J. Kremer, A. Schlesinger, J. Trimble AgBiome, Inc. 104 T. W. Alexander Drive, Building 1, RTP, NC 27709

Live microbial products such as probiotics and microbial pesticides are exposed to stress during the formulation process. Stress exposure during formulation can affect product efficacy and viability. The aim of this study is to identify culturable microbes that can survive formulation processes such as spray drying or oven drying. North Carolina and Iowa soil samples were sent through a spray dryer, streaked onto agar plates, and sent for metagenomic analysis. The alpha diversity and abundance of the stressed samples was compared to the mock samples at different incubation times. The stressed sample had lower alpha diversity and an increased relative abundance of spore forming bacteria. Further research is being conducted on other formulation processes with a focus on the survival of non-spore forming bacteria.