Investigation of Possible horizontal gene transfer from transgenic rice to soil microorganisms in paddy rice field

In order to monitor the possibility of horizontal gene transfer between transgenic rice and microorganisms in a paddy rice field, the gene flow from a bifunctional fusion (TPSP) rice containing trehalose-6-phosphate synthase and phosphatase to microorganisms in soils was investigated. The soil samples collected from the paddy rice field during June 2004 to March 2006 were investigated by multiplex PCR, Southern hybridization, and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). The TPSP gene from soil genomic DNAs was not detected by PCR. Soil genomic DNAs did not show homologies on the Southern blotting data, indicating that gene transfer did not occur during the last two years in the paddy rice field. In addition, the AFLP band patterns produced by soil genomic DNAs from both transgenic and non-transgenic rice fields appeared similar to each other when analyzed by the NTSYSpc program. Thus, these data suggest that transgenic rice does not give a significant impact on the communities of soil microorganisms, although long-term observation may be needed.