Deciphering differences in microbial community composition and multifunctionality between healthy and Alternaria solani-infected potato rhizosphere soils

Purpose Understanding the interactions among soil microbial communities, soil multifunctionality, and soil-borne pathogens are important for ecological prevention and control of soil-borne diseases. In this study, we aimed to compare the differences in microbial communities and multifunctionality between healthy and Alternaria solani-infected potato rhizosphere soils. Additionally, we investigated the relationships among soil microbial communities, soil multifunctionality, and potato early blight incidence. Methods We collected healthy and Alternaria solani-infected potato rhizosphere soil samples from a potato field in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China. Amplicon sequencing was used to detect changes in soil microbial communities. The Z scores (standard scores) of soil chemical properties, soil enzyme activities, and potato yield were averaged to obtain soil multifunctionality. Results We found significantly reduced potato yield, soil multifunctionality, and bacterial richness under diseased conditions. Additionally, there were significant differences between healthy and diseased rhizosphere soil microbial communities. Specific microbial taxa including Kaistobacter, Candidatus Koribacter, Candidatus Solibacter, Rhodoplanes, Bradyrhizobium, Gynumella, Massilia, Alicyclobacillus, Mycochlamys, and Conocybe were enriched in diseased rhizosphere soils. The complexity of microbial co-occurrence networks decreased. The proportion of positive correlations among microbial taxa decreased, whereas the proportion of negative correlations increased in diseased rhizosphere soils. These changes were strongly associated with decreased soil multifunctionality. Conclusion Our results increased our comprehension of the interactions among soil microbial communities, multifunctionality, and potato early blight, thus providing important implications for the design and implementation of control strategies against soil-borne diseases in the future.