Microbial and Nematode Community Dynamics in Forage Legumes under Drought and SynCom Inoculation

This study investigates how drought and microbial inoculation influence rhizosphere microbiome and nematode community assembly in forage legumes under controlled greenhouse conditions. Red clover (Trifolium pratense) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) were subjected to drought (30, 50, and 80 percent field capacity) and post-recovery phases, with or without inoculation of a five-strain synthetic microbial community (SynCom: Bacillus spp. G3, G12; Acinetobacter sp. G13; Plantibacter flavus M251 and M259). Root-associated soil samples were collected for 16S rRNA, ITS, and nematode metabarcoding analyses to evaluate drought-induced shifts in multi-kingdom community composition and food-web structure. The dataset provides a resource for exploring plant, microbe, and nematode interactions under water-limited conditions.