AMF alters soil fungal community dynamics and composition during litter decomposition

Although arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are believed to be non-saprophytic, recent studies have indicated that AMF are able to influence litter decomposition through interacting with the soil fungal community. However, it remains unclear exactly which constituent groups of the soil fungal community respond to AMF during litter decomposition, and in what ways. In order to fill this knowledge gap, we investigated the effect of AMF on soil fungal communities in a subtropical forest in southwestern China. Our experimental set-up included a dual microcosm unit with two treatments: inoculated with AMF (AM) and non-inoculation (NM). Destructive soil sampling was carried out at different times (T0, T90, T120, T150 and T180) and Illumina sequencing was applied to detect changes in soil fungal community composition. We found that the composition and operational taxonomic units (OTU) richness of the fungal community at higher taxonomical levels (e.g. phyla, order,) remained stable over different treatments (AM and NM) during litter decomposition, However, the relative abundance of some key genera including Mycena, Glomerella, Pholiotina,and Sistotrema were significantly affected by AMF inoculation. Soil fungal community structure was also significantly altered by AMF inoculation during the later stages of litter decomposition, but the diversity of the soil fungal community was unaffected. Our study provides new insight into understanding the interaction between AMF and soil fungal communities during litter decomposition.