• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.159-165
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• 2012

The rhizobacterial composition varies according to the soil properties. To test if the effect of herbicides on the rhizobacterial communities of genetically modified NK603 glyphosate-tolerant maize varies according to different soil locations, a comparison was made between the effects of glyphosate (Roundup Plus), a post-emergence applied herbicide, and a pre-emergence applied herbicide (GTZ) versus untreated soil. The potential effect was monitored by direct amplification, cloning, and sequencing of the soil DNA encoding 16S rRNA, and high-throughput DNA pyrosequencing of the bacterial DNA coding for the 16S rRNA hypervariable V6 region. The results obtained using three different methods to analyze the herbicide effect on the rhizobacterial communities of genetically modified NK603 maize were comparable to those previously obtained when glyphosate-tolerant maize was grown in soil with different characteristics. Both herbicides decreased the bacterial diversity in the rhizosphere, with Actinobacteria being the taxonomic group most affected. The results suggest that both herbicides affected the structure of the maize rhizobacterial community, but glyphosate was environmentally less aggressive.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1473-1483
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• 2014

Reports of herbicide resistance events are proliferating worldwide, leading to new cultivation strategies using combinations of pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides. We analyzed the impact during a one-year cultivation cycle of several herbicide combinations on the rhizobacterial community of glyphosate-tolerant Bt-maize and compared them to those of the untreated or glyphosate-treated soils. Samples were analyzed using pyrosequencing of the V6 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. The sequences obtained were subjected to taxonomic, taxonomy-independent, and phylogeny-based diversity studies, followed by a statistical analysis using principal components analysis and hierarchical clustering with jackknife statistical validation. The resilience of the microbial communities was analyzed by comparing their relative composition at the end of the cultivation cycle. The bacterial communites from soil subjected to a combined treatment with mesotrione plus s-metolachlor followed by glyphosate were not statistically different from those treated with glyphosate or the untreated ones. The use of acetochlor plus terbuthylazine followed by glyphosate, and the use of aclonifen plus isoxaflutole followed by mesotrione clearly affected the resilience of their corresponding bacterial communities. The treatment with pethoxamid followed by glyphosate resulted in an intermediate effect. The use of glyphosate alone seems to be the less aggressive one for bacterial communities. Should a combined treatment be needed, the combination of mesotrione and s-metolachlor shows the next best final resilience. Our results show the relevance of comparative rhizobacterial community studies when novel combined herbicide treatments are deemed necessary to control weed growth.