title: Precipitation shapes communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Tibetan alpine steppe.
abstract: Tibetan Plateau is one of the largest and most unique habitats for organisms including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). However, it remains unclear how AMF communities respond to key environmental changes in this harsh environment. To test if precipitation could be a driving force in shaping AMF community structures at regional scale, we examined AMF communities associated with dominant plant species along a precipitation gradient in Tibetan alpine steppe. Rhizosphere soils were collected from five sites with annual precipitation decreasing from 400 to 50 mm. A total of 31 AMF operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified. AMF community composition varied significantly among sites, whereas AMF community composition did not vary among plant species. Path analysis revealed that precipitation directly affected AMF hyphal length density, and indirectly influenced AMF species richness likely through the mediation of plant coverage. Our results suggested that water availability could drive the changes of AMF communities at regional scale. Given the important roles AMF could play in the dynamics of plant communities, exploring the changes of AMF communities along key environmental gradients would help us better predict the ecosystem level responses of the Tibetan vegetation to future climate change.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China.|College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35, Tsinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Rongxiao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Che
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35, Tsinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Hanke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35, Tsinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Baoming
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D065948:Grassland; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology; D011891:Rain; D058441:Rhizosphere; D018609:Tibet