Background The soil mycobiome is composed of a complex and diverse fungal community, which includes functionally diverse species ranging from plant pathogens to mutualists. Among the latter are arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) that provide phosphorous (P) to plants. While plant hosts and abiotic parameters are known to structure AMF communities, it remains largely unknown how higher trophic level organisms, including protists and nematodes, affect AMF abundance and community composition. Results Here, we explored the connections between AMF, fungivorous protists and nematodes that could partly reflect trophic interactions, and linked those to rhizosphere P dynamics and plant performance in a long-term manure application setting. Our results revealed that manure addition increased AMF biomass and the density of fungivorous nematodes, and tailored the community structures of AMF, fungivorous protists, and nematodes. We detected a higher abundance of AMF digested by the dominant fungivorous nematodes Aphelenchoides and Aphelenchus in high manure treatments compared to no manure and low manure treatments. Structural equation modeling combined with network analysis suggested that predation by fungivorous protists and nematodes stimulated AMF biomass and modified the AMF community composition. The mycorrhizal-fungivore interactions catalyzed AMF colonization and expression levels of the P transporter gene ZMPht1;6 in maize roots, which resulted in enhanced plant productivity. Conclusions Our study highlights the importance of predation as a key element in shaping the composition and enhancing the biomass of AMF, leading to increased plant performance. As such, we clarify novel biological mechanism of the complex interactions between AMF, fungivorous protists, and nematodes in driving P absorption and plant performance.

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Abstract. To collect clams automatically and effectively on coastal beach, an automatic clam collecting device was designed. The device consists of a connecting device, a shovelling device, a conveying device, and a filtering device. The mechanical device is designed based on some of the presented devices, such as a blade with slope, a pipelined conveyor belt, planar linkage mechanisms and a ski mechanism. The connecting device is connected to the device body by bolts. The shovelling device adopts a blade with slope, which can reduce the resistance between sandy soil and the device. The transmission device adopts a conveyor belt with a two-stage reducer, which can effectively control the speed of the transmission and avoid the splash of mud. A mesh structure is used for soil filtering, which is designed with a certain slope, thus sandy soil and other impurities fall from the mesh for its own weight. The designed device for clam collecting will improve efficiency and decrease cost effectively.