Short-term warming increases root-associated fungal community dissimilarities among host plant species on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Root-associated fungi link resource fluxes between the soil and roots, thus influencing plant growth and ecosystem function. However, at present, the impact of global warming on these fungi and their plant host specialization, especially in ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is obscure. Here, pot experiments were conducted to examine the root-associated fungal community structure of 14 host plant species undergoing two years of experimental warming on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Infrared heaters were used to raise the soil temperature to 2.0 ℃ higher than the relative ambient temperature. Subsequently, the endophytic and rhizoplane fungal communities were explored by sequencing the fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. A total of 1564 OTUs were identified, which were dominated by ascomycetes (82.71%). Similar root-associated fungal diversity and community composition were identified under ambient and warming environments. The root-associated fungal community composition significantly varied among different host plant species, and this dissimilarity was enhanced under experimental warming. Root N concentration was essential in shaping the structure of the root-associated fungal community. Although the root-associated fungal community was resilient to short-term warming, our study highlights that climate warming can induce higher host specificity of root-associated fungal communities in the alpine meadow ecosystem.