Profiling of rhizosphere-associated microbial communities in North Alabama soils infested with varied levels of reniform nematodes

Our analyses identified 47,893 bacterial and 3,409 fungal Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) across all groups. Among the bacterial ASVs, 12,758, 10,709, 12,153, and 11,360 unique ASVs were determined in Groups A, B, C, and D, respectively. While 663, 887, 480, and 326 unique fungal ASVs were identified in Groups A, B, C, and D, respectively. Also, the five most abundant rhizospheric bacterial genera identified were <i>Gaiella</i>, <i>Conexibacter</i>, <i>Bacillus</i>, <i>Blastococcus</i>, <i>Streptomyces</i>. Moreover, five abundant fungal genera belonging to <i>Fusarium, Aspergillus, Gibberella, Cladosporium, Lactera</i> were identified. The tight clustering of bacterial nodes in <i>Actinobacteria</i>, <i>Acidobacteria</i>, and <i>Proteobacteria</i> shows they are highly similar and often found together. On the other hand, the close association of <i>Ascomycota</i> and <i>Basidiomycota</i> suggesting that they have different ecological roles but occupy similar niches and contribute similar functions within the microbial community. The abundant microbial communities identified in this study had a role in nutrient recycling, soil health, plant resistance to some environmental stress and pests including nematodes, and biogeochemical cycles. Our findings will aid in broadening our understanding of how microbial communities interact with crops and nematodes in the rhizosphere, influencing plant growth and pest management.