MYCOLab Ai Logo - gold and army green

Rhizosphere Bacterial Communities Alter in Process to Mycorrhizal Developments of a Mixotrophic Pyrola japonica

Summary

This study examines how bacterial communities in soil around plant roots change as fungi develop their associations with a mixotrophic plant called Pyrola japonica. The researchers found that bacterial diversity decreases when fungal colonization is at its peak, and these bacterial communities remain relatively stable even after the fungi begin to degenerate. The bacteria, particularly species from the Rhizobiales and Actinomycetales groups, appear to help support the fungal-plant partnership.

Background

Rhizosphere bacteria work synergistically with mycorrhizal fungi to promote plant growth. The community structure of rhizosphere bacteria may be influenced by continuous changes in fungal associations with host plants. Pyrola japonica forms arbutoid mycorrhizas with visually distinguishable fungal development stages at the cellular level.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the roles of rhizosphere bacteria and their community shifts along with mycorrhizal developments in P. japonica. The research examined bacterial communities at three different developmental stages of mycorrhizal roots—limited, full, and digested—to determine how these communities change during fungal colonization and degeneration.

Results

Both alpha and beta diversities were significantly lower in the full condition compared to limited and digested conditions. Rhizobiales and Actinomycetales, known as mycorrhizal helper bacteria, were characterized in full and digested conditions. Communities in limited and bulk soil conditions were influenced by both deterministic and stochastic processes, while full and digested conditions were regulated only by stochastic processes.

Conclusion

Mycorrhizal fungi play ecologically important roles as temporal drivers initiating rhizosphere bacterial community formation and as key founders establishing priority effects. The bacterial community remains stable after mycorrhizal degeneration, with historical continuity contributing to maintenance of plant-mycorrhizal fungi-bacterial associations.
  • Published in:Microbial Ecology,
  • Study Type:Observational Study,
  • Source: PMID: 40229524, DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02526-z
Scroll to Top