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

Summary

This study explores how bacteria living around plant roots change as the plant develops its relationship with fungi. Researchers found that when fungi fully colonized plant roots in Pyrola japonica, the bacterial community became less diverse but more stable. Even after fungi died off, the bacterial community remained, suggesting these bacteria play an important long-term role in helping the plant obtain nutrients and resist diseases.

Background

Rhizosphere bacteria work synergistically with mycorrhizal fungi to promote plant growth. Pyrola japonica forms arbutoid mycorrhizas without fungal mantles, allowing visual assessment of mycorrhizal development stages. Understanding how rhizosphere bacterial communities change along mycorrhizal development is crucial for understanding plant-fungal-bacterial tripartite interactions.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the roles of rhizosphere bacteria and their community shifts along mycorrhizal developmental stages in P. japonica. The research examined bacterial community structure at three visually distinguishable mycorrhizal development stages: limited, full, and digested conditions.

Results

Both α- and β-diversities were significantly lower in the full mycorrhizal condition compared to limited and digested conditions. Bacterial 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. Mycorrhizal helper bacteria from orders Rhizobiales and Actinomycetales were characterized in fully colonized and digested conditions.

Conclusion

Mycorrhizal fungi function as temporal drivers initiating rhizosphere bacterial community formation and as key founders establishing priority effects. The bacterial community structure remains stable after mycorrhizal degeneration, with historical continuity contributing to maintaining plant-mycorrhizal fungi-bacterial associations essential for nutrient acquisition and pathogenic resistance.
  • Published in:Microbial Ecology,
  • Study Type:Observational Field Study,
  • Source: PMID: 40229524, DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02526-z
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