Funneliformis mosseae ‐induced changes of rhizosphere microbial community structure enhance Capsicum annuum L. plant growth and fruit yield

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, such as Funneliformis mosseae, are essential components of the soil microbiome that can facilitate plant growth and enhance abiotic and biotic stress resistances. However, the mechanisms via which F. mosseae inoculation influences Capsicum annuum L. plant growth and fruit yield remain unclear. Here, we conducted pot experiments to investigate bacterial and fungal community structures in the rhizosphere of C. annuum plants inoculated with F. mosseae based on 16S ribosomal RNA and internal transcribed spacer gene sequencing. The alpha-diversity of bacteria increased significantly following F. mosseae inoculation (p < 0.01); however, there was no significant difference in fungal diversity indices between treatments. The relative abundances of major bacterial phyla, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Gemmatimonadetes, together with the fungal phylum Ascomycota, were all higher in inoculated samples than in uninoculated controls. F. mosseae inoculation led to a remarkable enrichment of potentially beneficial genera (e.g., Streptomyces, Sphingomonas, Lysobacter, and Trichoderma), in stark contrast to the depletion of fungal pathogens (e.g., Botryotrichum, Acremonium, Fusarium, and Plectosphaerella). Rhizosphere pathways related to amino acid metabolism and antibiotic biosynthesis were upregulated by F. mosseae inoculation, whereas pathways involved in infectious diseases were downregulated. Thus, F. mosseae inoculation appears to reshape the rhizosphere microbiome, thereby augmenting C. annuum plant growth and fruit yield.