title: Cry1Ac Transgenic Sugarcane Does Not Affect the Diversity of Microbial Communities and Has No Significant Effect on Enzyme Activities in Rhizosphere Soil within One Crop Season.
abstract: Cry1Ac transgenic sugarcane provides a promising way to control stem-borer pests. Biosafety assessment of soil ecosystem for cry1Ac transgenic sugarcane is urgently needed because of the important role of soil microorganisms in nutrient transformations and element cycling, however little is known. This study aimed to explore the potential impact of cry1Ac transgenic sugarcane on rhizosphere soil enzyme activities and microbial community diversity, and also to investigate whether the gene flow occurs through horizontal gene transfer. We found no horizontal gene flow from cry1Ac sugarcane to soil. No significant difference in the population of culturable microorganisms between the non-GM and cry1Ac transgenic sugarcane was observed, and there were no significant interactions between the sugarcane lines and the growth stages. A relatively consistent trend at community-level, represented by the functional diversity index, was found between the cry1Ac sugarcane and the non-transgenic lines. Most soil samples showed no significant difference in the activities of four soil enzymes: urease, protease, sucrose, and acid phosphate monoester between the non-transgenic and cry1Ac sugarcane lines. We conclude, based on one crop season, that the cry1Ac sugarcane lines may not affect the microbial community structure and functional diversity of the rhizosphere soil and have few negative effects on soil enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Dinggang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Shiwu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jinlong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University Fuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Youxiong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Que
keywords: community structure; cry1Ac transgenic sugarcane; enzyme activity; functional diversity; gene flow; risk assessment