Mycorrhizal colonization of transgenic Eucalyptus camaldulensis carrying the mangrin gene for salt tolerance

Transgenic products and the creation of new organisms with innovative transgenic traits generally raise risk assessment concerns because of potential risks to nontarget organisms. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and Japanese government regulations require scientific environmental risk assessments of living modified organisms prior to release to avoid adverse effects on the environment. Soil microorganisms, such as the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, aid in plant nutrient acquisition and protection from environmental stresses such as salt stress. In this study, we used a salt-tolerant transgenic Eucalyptus camaldulensis transformed with the mangrin gene from a mangrove plant and evaluated the interactions between environmental stress-tolerant transgenic plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Our results indicated that these transformants were substantially equivalent to nontransformants in terms of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization under both saline and nonsaline conditions, and that the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization could potentially enhance the salt tolerance of the transgenic plant.