Soil Fauna Accelerate Litter Decomposition of Cry1Ac Transgenic Maize Independently of Microbial α-Diversity: A Multi-Year, Multi-Region Field Study.
- 1Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Northeast Agricultural Research Center of China), Changchun 130033, China.
- 2Jilin Provincial Crop Transgenic Science and Technology Innovation Center, Changchun 130033, China.
Abstract
The return of Bt transgenic maize litter to farmland may affect soil fauna and litter decomposition. From 2015 to 2018, we carried out a multi-year, multi-region litterbag experiment in three major maize-growing regions of China using Cry1Ac transgenic maize Bt-799 and its non-transgenic hybrid. We used litterbags with mesh sizes of 5, 2, and 0.02 mm to control soil fauna access. Soil fauna communities and litter decomposition rates were examined in all regions, and bacterial and fungal communities were additionally examined in the third year at Gongzhuling. The results showed that the introduction of Bt gene had no significant effect on soil fauna community composition, microbial α-diversity, or litter decomposition. Decomposition rates were significantly higher in large- and medium-mesh litterbags than in small-mesh litterbags across all regions and years, demonstrating that soil fauna substantially accelerated litter decomposition. Soil fauna abundance was significantly positively correlated with decomposition rate (r = 0.847, p < 0.001), whereas maize variety and microbial α-diversity indices showed no significant correlation. These findings indicate that soil fauna promote litter decomposition of Cry1Ac transgenic maize, with no detectable association with microbial α-diversity, and that the Bt gene has no detectable effect on the measured soil biological processes.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026soil,
title = {{Soil Fauna Accelerate Litter Decomposition of Cry1Ac Transgenic Maize Independently of Microbial α-Diversity: A Multi-Year, Multi-Region Field Study.}},
author = {Baifeng Wang and Shijie Li and Zhilei Jiang and Fengci Wu and Junqi Yin and Xinyuan Song},
journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/ani16193064},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883032},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Soil Fauna Accelerate Litter Decomposition of Cry1Ac Transgenic Maize Independently of Microbial α-Diversity: A Multi-Year, Multi-Region Field Study.
AU - Baifeng Wang
AU - Shijie Li
AU - Zhilei Jiang
AU - Fengci Wu
AU - Junqi Yin
AU - Xinyuan Song
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
JO - Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
DO - 10.3390/ani16193064
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883032
AB - The return of Bt transgenic maize litter to farmland may affect soil fauna and litter decomposition. From 2015 to 2018, we carried out a multi-year, multi-region litterbag experiment in three major maize-growing regions of China using Cry1Ac transgenic maize Bt-799 and its non-transgenic hybrid. We used litterbags with mesh sizes of 5, 2, and 0.02 mm to control soil fauna access. Soil fauna communities and litter decomposition rates were examined in all regions, and bacterial and fungal communities were additionally examined in the third year at Gongzhuling. The results showed that the introduction of Bt gene had no significant effect on soil fauna community composition, microbial α-diversity, or litter decomposition. Decomposition rates were significantly higher in large- and medium-mesh litterbags than in small-mesh litterbags across all regions and years, demonstrating that soil fauna substantially accelerated litter decomposition. Soil fauna abundance was significantly positively correlated with decomposition rate (r = 0.847, p < 0.001), whereas maize variety and microbial α-diversity indices showed no significant correlation. These findings indicate that soil fauna promote litter decomposition of Cry1Ac transgenic maize, with no detectable association with microbial α-diversity, and that the Bt gene has no detectable effect on the measured soil biological processes.
SN - 2076-2615
ER -