Effects of cultivation of OsrHSA transgenic rice on functional diversity of microbial communities in the soil rhizosphere

With the widespread cultivation of transgenic crops, there is increasing concern about unintended effects of these crops on soil environmental quality. In this study, we used the Biolog method and ELISA to evaluate the possible effects of OsrHSA transgenic rice on soil microbial utilization of carbon substrates under field conditions. There were no significant differences in average well-color development (AWCD) values, Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H), Simpson dominance indices (D) and Shannon–Wiener evenness indices (E) of microbial communities in rhizosphere soils at eight samplings between OsrHSA transgenic rice and its non-transgenic counterpart. The main carbon sources utilized by soil microbes were carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, amino acids and polymers. The types, capacities and patterns of carbon source utilization by microbial communities in rhizosphere soils were similar throughout the detection period. We detected no OsrHSA protein in the roots of OsrHSA transgenic rice. We concluded that OsrHSA transgenic rice and the rHSA protein it produced did not alter the functional diversity of microbial communities in the rhizosphere.