Effects of Cry toxins on non-target soil bacteria during a 2-year follow up study

  • Amina Yaqoob University of the Punjab, Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, 87-West Canal Bank Road Lahore-53700
  • Ahmad A. Shahid University of the Punjab, Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, 87-West Canal Bank Road Lahore-53700
  • Ibrahim B. Salisu University of the Punjab, Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, 87-West Canal Bank Road Lahore-53700, Pakistan Federal University Dutse, Faculty of Agriculture, Dept. of Animal Science. PMB 7156 Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria
  • Saira Azam University of the Punjab, Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, 87-West Canal Bank Road Lahore-53700
  • Mukhtar Ahmed University of the Punjab, Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, 87-West Canal Bank Road Lahore-53700
  • Abdul Q. Rao University of the Punjab, Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, 87-West Canal Bank Road Lahore-53700
Keywords: Bt crops, risk assessment, Cry toxins, soil, bacteria

Abstract

Genetically modified (GM) plants with insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) genes are widely accepted but their commercial utilization highlights the biosafety issues worldwide. The risk assessment of GM crops demonstrates their impact on the ecosystem as well as non-target organisms (NTOs). Among the NTOs, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) demand more critical experimental studies as they play a significant role in plant growth. A comparative study of Bt with non-Bt cotton rhizosphere was conducted, on selected bacterial strains. During the course of the study, biochemical characterization, auxin biosynthesis and molecular characterization was done to assess the effect of Bt toxins (Cry1Ac and Cry2A) on non-target PGPR strains. A significant decrease (p<0.05) in phosphatase activity was recorded in some of the experimental bacterial strains as compared to those of control strains. However, no significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in other parameters like bacterial population, colony morphologies as well as biochemical activities. Thus, our study demonstrates the safe plantation of Bt crops with respect to soil bacteria.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Dikova B, 2011. Tomato spotted wilt virus on some medicinal and essential oil-bearing plants in Bulgaria. Bulg J Agri Sci 17 (3): 306-313.

Dutton A, Klein H, Romeis J, Bigler F, 2002. Uptake of Bt‐toxin by herbivores feeding on transgenic maize and consequences for the predator Chrysoperla carnea. Ecol Entomol 27 (4): 441-447. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2311.2002.00436.x

Gamble TN, Betlach MR, Tiedje JM, 1977. Numerically dominant denitrifying bacteria from world soils. Appl Environ Microbiol 33 (4): 926-939.

Hamaki T, Suzuki M, Fudou R, Jojima Y, Kajiura T, Tabuchi A, Sen K, Shibai H, 2005. Isolation of novel bacteria and actinomycetes using soil-extract agar medium. J Biosci Bioeng 99 (5): 485-492. https://doi.org/10.1263/jbb.99.485

Hannula S, Boschker H, Boer WD, Veen JV, 2012. 13C pulse‐labeling assessment of the community structure of active fungi in the rhizosphere of a genetically starch‐modified potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivar and its parental isoline. New Phytologist 194 (3): 784-799. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04089.x

Islam M, Deora A, Hashidoko Y, Rahman A, Ito T, Tahara S, 2007. Isolation and identification of potential phosphate solubilizing bacteria from the rhizoplane of Oryza sativa L. cv. BR29 of Bangladesh. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C 62 (1-2): 103-110. https://doi.org/10.1515/znc-2007-1-218

Jensen H, 1951. Notes on the biology of Azotobacter. Proc Soc Appl Bacteriol, pp: 89-94. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2672.1951.tb01997.x

Lee DK, Park SH, Seong SY, Kim YS, Jung H, Choi YD, Kim JK, 2016. Production of insect-resistant transgenic rice plants for use in practical agriculture. Plant Biotech Rep 10 (6): 391-401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-016-0410-y

Li X, Liu B, 2013. A 2-year field study shows little evidence that the long-term planting of transgenic insect-resistant cotton affects the community structure of soil nematodes. PLoS One 8 (4): e61670. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0061670

Li Y, Hallerman EM, Liu Q, Wu K, Peng Y, 2016. The development and status of Bt rice in China. Plant Biotech J 14 (3): 839-848. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.12464

Liang J, Meng F, Sun S, Wu C, Wu H, Zhang M, Zhang H, Zheng X, Song X, Zhang Z, 2015. Community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in rhizospheric soil of a transgenic high-methionine soybean and a near isogenic variety. PloS one 10 (12): e0145001. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145001

Liang J, Luan Y, Jiao Y, Xin L, Song X, Zheng X, Zhang Z, 2018. No significant differences in rhizosphere bacterial communities between Bt maize cultivar IE09S034 and the near-isogenic non-Bt cultivar Zong31. Plant Soil Env 64 (9): 427-434. https://doi.org/10.17221/260/2018-PSE

Prasad R, Kumar M, Varma A, 2015. Role of PGPR in soil fertility and plant health. In: Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and medicinal plants. Springer, pp: 247-260. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-13401-7_12. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13401-7_12

Prophet E, Mills BB, Arrington JB, Sobin LH, 1992. Laboratory methods in histotechnology. Am Regist Pathol, Washington DC.

Rashid MI, Mujawar LH, Shahzad T, Almeelbi T, Ismail IM, Oves M, 2016. Bacteria and fungi can contribute to nutrients bioavailability and aggregate formation in degraded soils. Microbiol Res 183: 26-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2015.11.007

Simonin M, Richaume A, Guyonnet JP, Dubost A, Martins JM, Pommier T, 2016. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles strongly impact soil microbial function by affecting archaeal nitrifiers. Nature Scientific Reports 6: 33643. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep33643

Strain KE, Lydy MJ, 2015. The fate and transport of the Cry1Ab protein in an agricultural field and laboratory aquatic microcosms. Chemosphere 132: 94-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.03.005

Tsatsakis AM, Nawaz MA, Kouretas D, Balias G, Savolainen K, Tutelyan VA, Golokhvast KS, Lee JD, Yang SH, Chung G, 2017. Environmental impacts of genetically modified plants: A review. Env Res 156: 818-833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.03.011

Udriste AA, Badulescu L, 2017. Genetically modified organisms. Res J Agr Sci 49(4): 308-313.

Wu G, Feng B, Xu J, Zhu XT, Li YC, Zeng NK, Hosen MI, Yang ZL, 2014. Molecular phylogenetic analyses redefine seven major clades and reveal 22 new generic clades in the fungal family Boletaceae. Fungal Diversity 69 (1): 93-115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-014-0283-8

Yaqoob A, Farooq N, Sajid I, Ali B, 2013. Auxin production by Azospirillum: Role in growth promotion of Triticum aestivum L. and Lens culinaris Medik. Glob J Sci Res 1 (1): 26-32.

Yaqoob A, Shahid AA, Samiullah TR, Rao AQ, Khan MAU, Tahir S, Mirza SA, Husnain T, 2016. Risk assessment of Bt crops on the non‐target plant‐associated insects and soil organisms. J Sci Food Agr 96 (8): 2613-2619. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.7661

Zhang X, Tian X, Ma L, Feng B, Liu Q, Yuan L, Fan C, Huang H, Yang Q, 2015. Biodiversity of the symbiotic bacteria associated with toxic marine Dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense. J Biosci Med 3 (6): 23. https://doi.org/10.4236/jbm.2015.36004

Published
2019-07-26
How to Cite
Yaqoob, A., Shahid, A. A., Salisu, I. B., Azam, S., Ahmed, M., & Rao, A. Q. (2019). Effects of Cry toxins on non-target soil bacteria during a 2-year follow up study. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 17(2), e0303. https://doi.org/10.5424/sjar/2019172-14605
Section
Agricultural environment and ecology