Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alter rhizosphere bacterial community characteristics to improve Cr tolerance of Acorus calamus

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can improve plant tolerance to heavy metal stress in terrestrial ecosystems. However, in wetland ecosystems, AMF can improve the tolerance of wetland plants to heavy metals by changing the structure and composition of rhizosphere bacterial communities, which is still rarely studied. In this study, we investigated the effects of AMF on the structure and composition of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of plants under different chromium concentrations. The results showed that Cr(Ⅵ) concentration in Acorus calamus. rhizosphere soil decreased by 12.6 % (5.6-21.7 %) on average after AMF inoculation, At the same time, it promoted the uptake of nutrients by A. calamus and increased soil carbon input. In addition, Cr stress decreased the bacterial community diversity and abundance index by 9.8 % (1.6-18.1 %) and 24.5 % (17.3-27.6 %) on average. On the contrary, the rhizosphere soil bacterial diversity and abundance index increased by 7.3 % (2.2-19.1 %) and 13.9 % (6.0-20.9 %) on average after AMF inoculation. Moreover, compared with the non-inoculated AMF group, the bacterial community structure of A. calamus rhizosphere changed by 24.6 % under Cr stress, The common number of species increased by 6.4 %. In addition, after inoculation of AMF significantly promote the growth of a large number of bacteria related to organic degradation, plant growth, and oxidative stress, increased soil carbon input improved the soil microenvironment. Meanwhile, After AMF inoculation, the Number of edges, Number of Nodes, Average degree, and Average Path length in the symbiotic network of rhizosphere soil bacterial community increased by 34.6 %, 10 %, 44.3 %, and 26.4 %, respectively. Therefore, it offers a possibility that AMF can enhance the tolerance of wetland plants to soil Cr pollution by improving the structure and composition of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere soils of wetland plants, which provide a basis for wetland plants to repair soil Cr pollution.

Keywords: 16S rRNA sequencing technology; AMF; Acorus calamus; Bacteria diversity; Cr stress; Phytoremediation.