Arbuscular mycorrhiza convey significant plant carbon to a diverse hyphosphere microbial food web and mineral‐associated organic matter

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) transport substantial plant carbon (C) that serves as a substrate for soil organisms, a precursor of soil organic matter (SOM), and a driver of soil microbial dynamics. Using two-chamber microcosms where an air gap isolated AMF from roots, we ¹³CO₂-labeled Avena barbata for 6 wk and measured the C Rhizophagus intraradices transferred to SOM and hyphosphere microorganisms. NanoSIMS imaging revealed hyphae and roots had similar ¹³C enrichment. SOM density fractionation, ¹³C NMR, and IRMS showed AMF transferred 0.77 mg C g^-1 of soil (increasing total C by 2% relative to non-mycorrhizal controls); 33% was found in occluded or mineral-associated pools. In the AMF hyphosphere, there was no overall change in community diversity but 36 bacterial ASVs significantly changed in relative abundance. With stable isotope probing (SIP)-enabled shotgun sequencing, we found taxa from the Solibacterales, Sphingobacteriales, Myxococcales, and Nitrososphaerales (ammonium oxidizing archaea) were highly enriched in AMF-imported ¹³C (> 20 atom%). Mapping sequences from ¹³C-SIP metagenomes to total ASVs showed at least 92 bacteria and archaea were significantly ¹³C-enriched. Our results illustrate the quantitative and ecological impact of hyphal C transport on the formation of potentially protective SOM pools and microbial roles in the AMF hyphosphere soil food web.