Wheat varietal diversity modulates nitrogen-related enzymatic activities but has limited impact on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Background and aims High-input agriculture involves low within-field crop genetic diversity, while plant diversity in natural ecosystems was shown to promote ecosystem functioning. Increasing intra-specific diversity in agroecosystems is a promising strategy to stabilize crop productivity and promote the associated diversity of soil biota. We investigated the effect of within-field diversity of bread wheat varieties on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and two enzymatic activities involved in organic nitrogen and phosphorus mineralization. Methods We set up a field experiment to test whether varietal or functional diversity modulate the abundance and diversity of AMF and the activity of leucine aminopeptidases and phosphatases in the root zone, considering the influence of root morphology. We used sixteen wheat varieties clustered into four groups according to previously measured traits. The abundance of AMF in roots was measured by qPCR, community composition was analyzed by Illumina metabarcoding on two AMF markers (SSU, LSU), and enzymatic activities were quantified by biochemical assays. Results Soil properties were the primary drivers of all response variables. Varietal diversity affected nitrogen-related soil enzymatic activities but not those related to phosphorus, with a significant increase of leucine-aminopeptidase activities with increasing varietal diversity. Wheat varietal and functional diversity marginally impacted the abundance of AMF, and functional diversity negatively affected AMF diversity on the SSU marker. Mean root traits modulated enzymatic activities, but not AMF communities. Conclusions Increasing intra-specific crop diversity affects essential soil microbial processes, providing valuable insights for studying the relationship between plant diversity and soil microbiota in agroecosystems.