Effect of a nutrient gradient on mycorrhizal fungal communities, physicochemical parameters of the soil and Zea maize fitness

Fertilization is generally anticipated to decrease plant investment into arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbionts. Some studies have evidenced fertilization-tolerant AM fungal taxa, yet little is known about their natural abundance in unfertilized settings. Even less is known regarding their response to fine-scale independent variations in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), even though plant allocation to AM fungi is known to depend on N:P stoichiometry. Here, we conducted a greenhouse study implementing a full factorial gradient of 7 N levels (0 to 160 ppm) and 7 P levels (0 to 127 ppm) and characterized AM fungal community structure using amplicon sequencing (Illumina MiSeq).