Transgenic Bt cotton has no apparent effect on enzymatic activities or functional diversity of microbial communities in rhizosphere soil

A transgenic Bt cotton (Sukang-103) and its non-Bt cotton counterpart (Sumian-12) were investigated to evaluate the potential risk of transgenes on the soil ecosystem. The activities of urease, phosphatase, dehydrogenase, phenol oxidase, and protease in cotton rhizosphere were assayed during the vegetative, reproductive, and senescing stages of cotton growth and after harvest. A Biolog system was used to evaluate the functional diversity of microbial communities in soils after a complete cotton growth cycle. Enzymatic activities in soils amended with cotton biomass were also assayed. Results showed that there were few significant differences in enzyme activities between Bt and non-Bt cottons at any of the growth stages and after harvest; amendment with cotton biomass to soil enhanced soil enzyme activities, but there were no significant difference between Bt and non-Bt cotton; the richness of the microbial communities in rhizosphere soil did not differ between Bt and the non-Bt cotton, and close to that of control soil; the functional diversity of microbial communities were not different in rhizosphere soils between Bt and non-Bt cotton. All results suggested that there was no evidence to indicate any adverse effects of Bt cotton on the soil ecosystem in this study.