Soil microbial diversity affects the plant-root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Here, we manipulated the soil biodiversity using a dilution-to-extinction approach in a controlled pot microcosm system and quantified the root length colonization of maize plants by the AMF Rhizophagus clarus. The experiment was performed using two physically and chemically distinct sandy soils, in order to test for results reproducibility and consistency. Overall, our data revealed significant positive correlations between the soil microbial diversity and AMF colonization. Most importantly, this finding opposes to the diversity-invisibility hypothesis and highlights an overall helper effect of the soil biodiversity on plant-AMF symbiosis.