ASV table.xlsx

Transgenic glyphosate-resistant maize has emerged as a way to expand the use of glyphosate for weed control. Studying the microbiome in the tissues and rhizosphere soil of transgenic plant is vital for understanding the glyphosate-resistant mechanism and optimizing the transgenic design of crops. In our study, the expression of a mutant cp4epsps gene in transgenic maize, which confers tolerance to glyphosate, was performed using the maize variety Xianyu 335 as the genetically modified acceptor line. This transgenic modification did not affect the initial bacterial community in the leaf, stem, root of maize, but promoted an improved bacterial community in the rhizosphere soil. After glyphosate stimulation, the glyphosate-resistance transgenic maize recruited more beneficial bacteria involved in N fixation and P solubilization and less pathogens in plant tissues and the rhizosphere soil than glyphosate-sensitive maize. Notably, the re-inoculation of bacterial strains isolated from glyphosate-resistance maize into the leaf and rhizosphere soil of glyphosate-sensitive maize resulted in an enhanced photosynthetic capacity in response to glyphosate, demonstrating the vital role of specific bacteria for glyphosate resistance. Our study provides important evidence of transgenic maize tolerance to herbicides from a bacterial ecology perspective.