The Effects of Transgenic Soybeans with Sulfur-Rich Amino Acids On Soil Microbial Community Structure.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of quality-improved transgenic soybeans on the structure of microbial communities in rhizosphere soil under agricultural field conditions based on the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) method. Two different groups of transgenic soybeans with sulfur-rich amino acids were used. The results showed that in comparison to the non-transgenic soybeans, the soil microbial communities in the rhizosphere associated with the transgenic lines changed significantly. In both group A and B, the PLFA contents changed significantly and 14 specific PLFAs were identified in Group A, and 13 in Group B. Correlation analysis found that the microbial characterization of Group A and the total concentration of PLFA’s of the transgenic line OE-8 were significantly higher than those of the non-transgenic line, as well as the lines 17-4 and 57 in Group B. The dominant PLFA mown plots were 16:0, 10Me18:0 and 18:1ω7c in Group A, and 15:0, 16:0 and 14Me16:0 in Group B. The results suggested that the microbial community structure changed after planting transgenic soybeans.