Engineered rhizosphere: the trophic bias generated by opine-producing plants is independent of the opine type, the soil origin, and the plant species.

In a previous study, we demonstrated that transgenic Lotus plants producing opines (which are small amino acid and sugar conjugates) specifically favor growth of opine-degrading rhizobacteria. The opine-induced bias was repeated and demonstrated with another soil type and another plant species (Solanum nigrum). This phenomenon is therefore independent of both soil type and plant species.