Effect on Soil Properties of BcWRKY1 Transgenic Maize with Enhanced Salinity Tolerance

Figure 7

Assays of three microbial communities in rhizosphere soil. BcWRKY1 transgenic maize (WL-73) and nontransgenic maize (WT; LH1037) plants were grown in saline or control nonsaline soil from 2012 to 2014 (, ). We investigated the microbial populations in their rhizosphere soil. (a) Actinomycete population, (b) bacterial population, and (c) fungal population in terms of cfu (colony forming units) per g of dry soil. WT, wild-type maize LH1037; WL-73, LH1037 plant transformed with BcWRKY1; V3, the three lowest leaves have a visible collar; V9, nine leaves have collars present; R1, silking; R6, physiological maturity. indicates a significant difference at according to the LSD test (). The standard error is based on the average of three biological replicates from 2012 to 2014. Note  1: the variation in the actinomycete, bacterial, and fungal populations was consistent. The populations of the three microbial communities increased from growth stages V3 through V9. The total number of each of the three types of microbes in the rhizosphere soil peaked at the V1 stage. Subsequently, the population levels of all three types of microorganisms decreased at the V6 stage. Note  2: to ensure consistency in the experimental data, transgenic and nontransgenic material were planted in the same pot for the three years, and each pot was handled at the same time to minimize the impact of human factors on the experiment.

(a)

(b)

(c)