TY - JOUR
T1 - A 3-year field study exhibits no apparent effect of the transgenic Cucumber mosaic virus-resistant pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) on soil fungal populations and communities
AU - Sang, Mee Kyung
AU - Kim, Hong Joe
AU - Oh, Ji Yeon
AU - Ryu, Ki Hyun
AU - Harn, Chee Hark
AU - Kim, Ki Deok
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Rural Development of Administration (BioGreen 21 research fund), Republic of Korea. We thank Eun Gyeong Song for her technical help in this study and Mohamed Mannaa and Jin-Ju Jeong for their help in preparation of this manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Genetically modified (GM) plants have potential benefits in modern agriculture such as increasing yields and decreasing the use of chemicals. However, GM plants may cause unintended consequences of gene flow to indigenous plants or microbes and the detrimental effects on non-target organisms such as soil microbial communities. To investigate these possible unintended effects of GM plants, we conducted a 3-year field study using the transgenic pepper line H-15 carrying the coat protein gene (CMVP0-CP) of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) pathotype CMVP0, which is resistant to two CMV pathotypes CMVP0 and CMVP1, to assess its effects on soil fungal populations and communities. This study was conducted in two different fields using the plate counting method on selective media as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analyses. In addition, we examined potential gene flow of CMVP0-CP from the transgenic line H-15 into the soil environment, including microflora, in the tested fields. We found little differences in the influence of the line H-15 compared with the inbred line P2377 (non-transgenic control) on the populations of fungal groups (total fungi, Aspergillus and Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., and Trichoderma spp.), distribution of fungal genera, and fungal communities. Further, coat protein gene (CMVP0-CP) (PCR detection limit in soil = 1–10 pg) of the transgenic line was not detected in the soil samples of the tested fields. Taken together, the transgenic pepper line had no distinct impact on fungal populations and communities with no detection of CMVP0-CP gene flow from the transgenic line into the soil environment of the fields. Thus, the transgenic line H-15 might be little significantly harmful from the perspective of preserving soil fungal diversity; it could be a potential candidate for developing a commercial cultivar.
AB - Genetically modified (GM) plants have potential benefits in modern agriculture such as increasing yields and decreasing the use of chemicals. However, GM plants may cause unintended consequences of gene flow to indigenous plants or microbes and the detrimental effects on non-target organisms such as soil microbial communities. To investigate these possible unintended effects of GM plants, we conducted a 3-year field study using the transgenic pepper line H-15 carrying the coat protein gene (CMVP0-CP) of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) pathotype CMVP0, which is resistant to two CMV pathotypes CMVP0 and CMVP1, to assess its effects on soil fungal populations and communities. This study was conducted in two different fields using the plate counting method on selective media as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analyses. In addition, we examined potential gene flow of CMVP0-CP from the transgenic line H-15 into the soil environment, including microflora, in the tested fields. We found little differences in the influence of the line H-15 compared with the inbred line P2377 (non-transgenic control) on the populations of fungal groups (total fungi, Aspergillus and Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., and Trichoderma spp.), distribution of fungal genera, and fungal communities. Further, coat protein gene (CMVP0-CP) (PCR detection limit in soil = 1–10 pg) of the transgenic line was not detected in the soil samples of the tested fields. Taken together, the transgenic pepper line had no distinct impact on fungal populations and communities with no detection of CMVP0-CP gene flow from the transgenic line into the soil environment of the fields. Thus, the transgenic line H-15 might be little significantly harmful from the perspective of preserving soil fungal diversity; it could be a potential candidate for developing a commercial cultivar.
KW - Coat protein gene
KW - Cucumber mosaic virus
KW - Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis
KW - Fungal community
KW - Gene flow
KW - Genetically modified pepper
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994056887&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apsoil.2016.09.019
DO - 10.1016/j.apsoil.2016.09.019
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84994056887
SN - 0929-1393
VL - 109
SP - 40
EP - 48
JO - Applied Soil Ecology
JF - Applied Soil Ecology
ER -