Diazotrophic Paenibacillus beijingensis drives fungal community variation in the rhizosphere of maize

Maize is one of the most important economic crops and the microbiome associated with maize is thought to play an important role in maize growth and health. In this study, the diazotrophic Paenibacillus beijingensis BJ-18 was inoculated to soil grown maize, with un-inoculated treatments as controls. Our results showed that inoculation with P. beijingensis BJ-18 altered structures of the fungal communities in the rhizosphere. Inoculation significantly decreased the abundance of pathogenic fungi Fusarium and Gibberella. The results provide a new insight into the plant-growth promotion mechanisms of diazotrophs not only through their N2-fixation, but also by reshaping microbiome structure of fungi.