Effect of a Genetically Modified Rhizobium leguminosarum Strain on Bacterial and Fungal Diversity in the Rhizosphere of Pisum sativum

Abstract

At present, legumes account for one third of the total protein intake of the human diet. Therefore, any improvement of forage and grain legume yields achieved without using potentially harmful chemical fertilizers are of extreme importance, in particular to the developing countries. One promising approach is the inoculation with a genetically modified Rhizobium strain that releases the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) to the rhizosphere of its host plant. The main objective of our experiments was to investigate whether the inoculation with a genetically modified Rhizobium strain had any impact on the composition and diversity of the bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere of Pisum sativum.