Effect of genetically modified Pseudomonas fluorescens introduced into soil contaminated with copper (II) on microbial community diversity in the soil and rhizosphere.

When genetically altered strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens were introduced into soil contaminated with copper in a laboratory study, they did not affect the phenotypic diversity (eco-physiological index) of indigenous microflora in the rhizosphere and bulk soil. Soil contamination with copper also did not cause shifts in the distribution of bacterial classes within the total community of heterotrophic or Gram-negative bacteria.