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Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.02590-06
Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Alteration of soil rhizobacterial communities following genetic transformation of white spruce

Université de Moncton, Department of Biology, Moncton, NB, Canada, E1A 3E9., Laurentian Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada, 1055 du PEPS street, Sainte-Foy, QC, Canada, G1V 4C7

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: martin.filion{at}umoncton.ca.

	Abstract

The application of plant genetic manipulations to agriculture and forestry with the aim of alleviating insect damages through Bt-transformation could lead to a significant reduction of pesticides being released into the environment. However, many groups have come forward with very valid and important questions relating to potentially adverse effects and it is crucial to assess and better understand the impacts this technology might have on ecosystems. In this study, we have analysed rhizosphere soil samples collected from the first Bt-transformed trees (insertion of the CryIa(b) toxin encoding gene) grown in Canada (Val-Cartier, QC, Canada) as part of an ecological impact assessment project. Using a robust Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis approach coupled with 16S rDNA sequencing, the rhizosphere-inhabiting microbial communities of white spruce (Picea glauca) genetically modified by the biolistic insertion of the cryIa(b)/uidA(GUS)/nptII genes were compared with the microbial communities associated with its non-genetically modified counterparts and with trees in which only the genetic marker genes uidA/nptII have been inserted. Analysis of 1728 rhizosphere bacterial clones (576 clones per treatment) using a Cramér-von Mises statistic analysis combined with a Monte Carlo comparison clearly indicated a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) between the microbial communities inhabiting the rhizospheres of trees carrying the cryIa(b) and uidA/nptII transgenes, uidA/nptII transgenes only, and control trees. Clear rhizosphere microbial community alterations due to Bt-tree genetic modification has to our knowledge never been published in scientific literature and opens the door to interesting questions related to Bt genetic transformation, and also to the impact of commonly used uidA/nptII genetic marker genes.