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A multi-year assessment of the environmental impact of transgenic Eucalyptus trees harboring a bacterial choline oxidase gene on biomass, precinct vegetation and the microbial community

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Abstract

A 4-year field trial for the salt tolerant Eucalyptus globulus Labill. harboring the choline oxidase (codA) gene derived from the halobacterium Arthrobacter globiformis was conducted to assess the impact of transgenic versus non-transgenic trees on biomass production, the adjacent soil microbial communities and vegetation by monitoring growth parameters, seasonal changes in soil microbes and the allelopathic activity of leaves. Three independently-derived lines of transgenic E. globulus were compared with three independent non-transgenic lines including two elite clones. No significant differences in biomass production were detected between transgenic lines and non-transgenic controls derived from same seed bulk, while differences were seen compared to two elite clones. Significant differences in the number of soil microbes present were also detected at different sampling times but not between transgenic and non-transgenic lines. The allelopathic activity of leaves from both transgenic and non-transgenic lines also varied significantly with sampling time, but the allelopathic activity of leaves from transgenic lines did not differ significantly from those from non-transgenic lines. These results indicate that, for the observed variables, the impact on the environment of codA-transgenic E. globulus did not differ significantly from that of the non-transformed controls on this field trial.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan (http://www.nedo.go.jp/english/index.html); by a Grant in Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) #21248001) (http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/index.html); and by a grant from Plant Transgenic Design Initiative, Gene Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Japan (http://ptrad.gene.tsukuba.ac.jp/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Transgenic Design Initiative, Gene Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Ten-nodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Taichi Oguchi, Akira Kikuchi & Kazuo N. Watanabe

  2. Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Ten-nodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Taichi Oguchi, Makiko Mimura, Akira Kikuchi & Kazuo N. Watanabe

  3. Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Ten-nodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Yuko Kashimura & Xiang Yu

  4. Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., 5-21-1 Oji, Kita-ku, Tokyo, 114-0002, Japan

    Etsuko Matsunaga, Kazuya Nanto & Teruhisa Shimada

Authors
  1. Taichi Oguchi
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  2. Yuko Kashimura
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  3. Makiko Mimura
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  4. Xiang Yu
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  5. Etsuko Matsunaga
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  6. Kazuya Nanto
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  7. Teruhisa Shimada
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  8. Akira Kikuchi
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  9. Kazuo N. Watanabe
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Correspondence to Akira Kikuchi.

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Taichi Oguchi and Yuko Kashimura have contributed equally to this work.

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Oguchi, T., Kashimura, Y., Mimura, M. et al. A multi-year assessment of the environmental impact of transgenic Eucalyptus trees harboring a bacterial choline oxidase gene on biomass, precinct vegetation and the microbial community. Transgenic Res 23, 767–777 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-014-9809-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-014-9809-9

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