Characteristics of fungal community structure in rhizosphere soil of mulberry trees in riparian buffer zone wetlands under cadmium contamination

This study investigated the effects of cadmium (Cd) contamination on the fungal community structure in rhizosphere soil of Mulberry (Morus spp.) trees in the riparian buffer zone wetlands of the Dongyang River urban section, Zhejiang Province, aiming to identify Cd-tolerant fungal taxa beneficial for soil remediation under Cd-polluted conditions. Using Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology, we analyzed the impact of Cd concentrations (0, 3.5, and 60 mg·kg^-1) on fungal community structure and diversity indices in Mulberry rhizosphere soil. The results demonstrated that Cd contamination altered fungal diversity and community composition. Low Cd concentrations increased the Chao1 and Shannon indices, whereas high Cd concentrationssharplyreduced these indices. The relative abundances of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota decreased under low Cd stress but increased under high Cd stress. In contrast, Zygomycota abundance rose under low Cd exposure but declined under high Cd exposure. Notably, high Cd contamination favored the proliferation of Alternaria and Didymella genera, which may represent Cd-resistant fungal taxa in Mulberry rhizosphere soil within riparian buffer zone wetlands.