Nutrient limitation shapes functional traits of mycorrhizal fungi and phosphorus-cycling bacteria across an elevation gradient.

ABSTRACT: In nutrient-limited high-elevation ecosystems, plants rely on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi to provide mineral phosphorus (P) in the form of phosphate (PO₄^3-). AM fungi gather these nutrients from phosphorus-cycling bacteria (PCBs) that can mineralize PO₄^3- from organic matter and solubilize mineral-bound P. How climate, soil factors, and nutrient limitation influence AM fungi and PCB assembly remains unclear. We collected soil from montane meadows across a 1,000-m elevation gradient on three replicate mountainsides and analyzed AM fungal marker genes, P-cycling genes from shotgun metagenomes, and edaphic measurements. High-elevation soils had nearly 50-fold less soil PO₄³⁻ and 60% more AM fungal hyphae than low-elevation soils. AM fungal tur

SUBMITTER: Shulman HB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12817948 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature