Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alter rhizosphere bacterial diversity, network stability and function of lettuce in barren soil

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an important role in plant growth and rhizosphere microbiome composition. However, how the plant-AMF-rhizosphere microbiome continuum interacts in barren soils to efficiently promote the plant's growth is still an area of little research. Here, we present the results of a controlled environment experiment to reveal the effect of AMF on the rhizosphere bacterial community of lettuce. Compared with the control group, AMF significantly increased plant biomass, mycorrhizal colonization, and affected the rhizosphere microbial community composition. AMF inoculation changed the function of the rhizosphere bacterial community, reduced the complexity of the bacterial network, and improved its stability. In addition, SEM showed that the composition and structure of rhizosphere soil bacterial community were significantly positively correlated with soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content after adding AMF. Our findings provide new information for exploring the positive effects of plant-microbe interactions.