Microbial Community Dynamics in Transgenic Crop Systems

Transgenic crops expressing traits such as insect resistance or stress tolerance interact with soil microorganisms in complex ways that can influence plant performance, soil health and ecosystem function. At the soil–plant interface, root exudates, rhizodeposition and the release of recombinant proteins shape the assembly and activity of bacterial, fungal and archaeal communities. Differences in microbial diversity, network architecture and functional gene abundance have been reported between transgenic lines and their isogenic counterparts, yet effects are often subtle, transient or site‐specific. Key drivers include crop species, genetic construct, agronomic practice and environmental context. Studies increasingly combine metagenomics, metabolomics and enzyme assays to reveal how transgenic traits modulate nutrient cycling, disease suppression and stress resilience via shifts in microbial taxa and metabolic pathways. Understanding these dynamics is essential for environmental risk assessment, sustainable management and the optimisation of beneficial plant–microbe interactions in modern agriculture.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Long‐term field trials with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice demonstrated that continuous cultivation over eight years did not lead to accumulation of Bt protein in soil nor to consistent alterations in enzymatic activities, microbial biomass or carbon and nitrogen cycling parameters. Microbial respiration, phosphatase and dehydrogenase activities remained comparable between Bt and non-Bt plots, indicating that soil ecosystem functioning and soil health were largely unaffected by the transgenic trait. This foundational work supports the conclusion that, under typical management and local biomass removal practices, Bt rice exerts minimal long‐term impact on core microbial processes in paddy soils.

Microbial Community Dynamics in Transgenic Crop Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in microbial community dynamics in transgenic crop systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Rhizosphere: The soil zone directly influenced by root secretions and associated microbial activity.

Metagenomics: Culture-independent sequencing of environmental DNA to profile microbial community composition and functional potential.

Root exudates: Organic compounds released by roots that serve as nutrients or signals for soil microorganisms.

Bt protein: Insecticidal crystal protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis, engineered into crops for pest resistance.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF): Symbiotic fungi that colonise plant roots and enhance nutrient uptake, particularly phosphorus.

Network stability: A measure of the resilience and connectivity of microbial co-occurrence networks under environmental or management perturbations.

References

1. Effects of long-term cultivation of transgenic Bt rice (Kefeng-6) on soil microbial functioning and C cycling. Scientific Reports (2017).
2. Harnessing the power of microbes: Enhancing soybean growth in an acidic soil through AMF inoculation rather than P-fertilization. Horticulture Research (2024).
3. Combined metagenomic and metabolomic analyses reveal that Bt rice planting alters soil C-N metabolism. ISME Communications (2023).
4. Comparison of genetically modified insect-resistant maize and non-transgenic maize revealed changes in soil metabolomes but not in rhizosphere bacterial community. GM crops & food (2022).