Effect of straw leachates from Cry1Ca-expressing transgenic rice on the growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa

Because of the prevalence of algae in rice paddy fields, they will be exposed to Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt) proteins released from Bt protein-expressing genetically engineered rice. To assess the effects of leachates extracted from Cry1Ca-expressing transgenic rice (T1C-19) straw on the microalga Chlorella pyrenoidosa, the authors added purified Cry1Ca (10 µg/L, 100 µg/L, and 1000 µg/L) and 5 concentrations of diluted extracts (5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, and 80%) from T1C-19 and the nontransformed control strain Minghui 63 (MH63) to the medium of C. pyrenoidosa. The authors found that the growth curves of C. pyrenoidosa treated with purified Cry1Ca overlapped with the medium control; that the order of C. pyrenoidosa growth rates for the T1C-19 leachate concentrations was 5% > 10% > 20% > control > 40% > 80%, and for the MH63 concentrations the order was 5% > 10% > control > 20% > 40% > 80%, but there were no statistical differences between the 20% T1C-19 or 20% MH63 leachate treatment and the medium control on day 8; and that after 7 d of culture, Cry1Ca could be detected in C. pyrenoidosa treated with different concentrations of T1C-19 leachate. The results demonstrated that Cry1Ca protein released from T1C-19 rice can be absorbed into C. pyrenoidosa but that purified Cry1Ca and leachates from T1C-19 rice have no obvious adverse effects on the growth of C. pyrenoidosa.