Use of 13C labeling to assess carbon partitioning in transgenic and nontransgenic (parental) rice and their rhizosphere soil microbial communities

Photosynthetic assimilation of CO2 is a primary source of carbon in soil and root exudates and can influence the community dynamics of rhizosphere organisms. Thus, if carbon partitioning is affected in transgenic crops, rhizosphere microbial communities may also be affected. In this study, the temporal effects of gene transformation on carbon partitioning in rice and rhizosphere microbial communities were investigated under greenhouse conditions using the C-13 pulse-chase labeling method and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. The C-13 contents in leaves of transgenic (Bt) and nontransgenic (Ck) rice were significantly different at the seedling, booting and heading stages. There were no detectable differences in C-13 distribution in rice roots and rhizosphere microorganisms at any point during rice development. Although a significantly lower amount of Gram-positive bacterial PLFAs and a higher amount of Gram-negative bacterial PLFAs were observed in Bt rice rhizosphere as compared with Ck at all plant development stages, there were no significant differences in the amount of individual C-13-PLFA between Bt and Ck rhizospheres at any growing stage. These findings indicate that the insertion of cry1Ab and marker genes into rice had no persistent or adverse effect on the photosynthate distribution in rice or the microbial community composition in its rhizosphere.