Sustainable agricultural practices are the answer to multifaceted problems that have
resulted due to prolonged and indiscriminate use of chemical based agronomic tools to …

Recent applications of biotechnology, especially genetic engineering, have revolutionized
crop improvement and increased the availability of valuable new traits. A current example is …

Massively parallel pyrosequencing of hypervariable regions from small subunit ribosomal
RNA (SSU rRNA) genes can sample a microbial community two or three orders of …

Plant genotype selects the rhizosphere microbiome. The success of plant–microbe
interactions is dependent on factors that directly or indirectly influence the plant rhizosphere …

Background and aims It has frequently been shown that plants interact with soils to shape
rhizosphere microbiomes. However, previous work has not distinguished between effects of …

The effect of domestication and modern breeding on aboveground traits in maize (Zea
mays) has been well-characterized, but the impact on root systems and the rhizosphere …

Soil texture plays a key role in carbon storage and strongly influences nutrient retention and
availability. The objective of this study was to 1) determine the effects of soil texture on soil …

Understanding the prevalence and polymorphism of antibiotic resistance genes in soil
bacteria and their potential to be transferred horizontally is required to evaluate the …

Use of transgenic crops, including those expressing the insecticidal Cry protein from Bt, is
increasing at a rapid rate in worldwide. Field and laboratory studies of transgenic Bt crops …

Transgenic Bt crops produce insecticidal Cry proteins that are released to soil in plant
residues, root exudates, and pollen and that may affect soil microorganisms. As a …