Environmental variables associated with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi diversity in Ohio soybean agricultural systems

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a crucial role in crop productivity and agroecosystem processes. However, the composition of soil AMF communities and the factors associated with their diversity and distribution in Ohio remain poorly understood. We profiled both soil AMF and physico-chemical characteristics in 18 soybean fields across agricultural regions in Ohio. AMF sequences were recovered through amplicon sequencing of the 18S ribosomal gene coupled with PacBio technology. We detected 14 genera belonging to six families of the Glomeromycota. The family Glomeraceae accounted for 39% of the AMF reads recovered, while the families Gigasporaceae and Archaeosporaceae were rare (detected in < 25% of samples). At the genus level, Entrophospora, Nanoglomus, Paraglomus, and Funneliformis were widespread, contrasting with rare taxa such as Gigaspora, Dominikia, and Archaeospora. For the studied soil parameters, only phosphorus was significantly associated with AMF community composition. These findings provide a baseline of AMF communities in Ohio soybean fields and highlight abiotic components influencing these communities. Future research should expand sampling to other regions of the state and evaluate root colonization and evaluation of AMF impacts on soybean yields in Ohio.