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.