Rhizospheric fungal community structure of a Bt brinjal and a near isogenic variety.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of Cry1Ac gene expressing brinjal (VRBT-8) on the rhizospheric fungal community structure.


RESULTS
qPCR indicated variations in the fungal ITS rRNA copy numbers of non-Bt (1·43-4·43) × 10(9) g(-1) dws and Bt (1·43-3·32) × 10(9) g(-1) dws plots. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS rRNA clones indicated fungal-related group majority of being Ascomycota compared to that of Basidiomycota and Zygomycota in non-Bt- and Bt-planted soils. Sordariomycetes was the dominant class detected in all the stages.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the variations in the population size and the distribution pattern observed across the non-Bt and Bt brinjal, plant-growth-dependent variability was more prominent compared with genetic modification. Therefore, this study concludes that genetic modification of brinjal crop has minor effect on the fungal community.


CONCLUSIONS
Brinjal, the important solanaceous crop, is also prone to attack by many insect pests, especially by Leucinoides orbonalis, resulting in significant losses in the crop yield. However, the reports on the effect of transgenic crops and the associated microbial community are inconsistent. The present communication takes into account for the first time the possible interactions between Bt brinjal and the associated fungal community; the latter playing a significant role in maintaining soil fertility. As this study is limited to the structural diversity of fungal community, additional information regarding the functional diversity of the group seems imperative before recommending the commercialization of GM crops.
Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
A K
AK
Singh
M
M
Singh
S K
SK
Dubey
D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D058441:Rhizosphere; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D032323:Solanum melongena / Q000235:genetics*
D000083722:Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004731:Endotoxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; C030956:insecticidal crystal protein, Bacillus Thuringiensis
Bt brinjal; Cry1Ac gene; ITS-rRNA-RFLP; fungal communities; rhizosphere