No tangible effects of field-grown cisgenic potatoes on soil microbial communities. AMIGA potato - Assessing and monitoring impacts of genetically modified potato on agro-ecosystems

As part of the AMIGA project, potato plant rhizosphere samples were collected of a cisgenic version of Desirée, its non-engineered late blight sensitive counterpart, and a conventionally bred late-blight resistant variety Sarpo Mira in the presence and absence of fungicides. Two experimental field sites in Ireland and the Netherlands were selected and sampled for two subsequent years (2013, 2014). DNA was extracted from the samples and subjected to high-throughput amplicon sequencing targeting the 16S rRNA gene, fungal ITS sequences, and the nirK gene.