The Effect of Plant x Plant Interaction on the Structure and Function of Microbial Communities in the Rhizosphere of Trifolium repens and Lolium perenne

Rhizosphere microbial communities are key drivers of the biogeochemical processes that determine the provision of plant-available nutrients and the extent to which plant-derived C becomes stabilized in soil. We know that the structure of rhizosphere microbial communities is shaped by plant species via root exudation and other components of rhizodeposition. However, much of the knowledge so far regarding the structuring of rhizosphere microbial communities, and potential links to function, has been gained from experiments involving a single plant individual grown alone in a container. Such an approach is not reflective of natural or managed plant communities where a plant individual will be involved in interspecific or intraspecific interactions with other plant individuals. The effects of a neighbouring plant with overlapping root zones and the competition for resources is less studied, and reduces our understanding of the interactions in the root-soil interface of plant communities. Here, we conducted a split-root pot experiment to examine the systemic effect of plant x plant interactions on microbial community structure (amplicon sequencing) and links to function (extracellular enzyme activity) in rhizosphere soil of Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens grown alone or in interaction with each other.