Different responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community to day-time and night-time warming in a semiarid steppe

Arbuscular mycorrhizal （AM） fungi form mutualistic symbioses with most plant species and play important roles in ecosystems. Knowledge of the response of AM fungi to temperature change will improve our under- standing of the function of AM fungal community under global climate change scenarios in ecosystems. The effects of constant warming on AM fungal communities have been investigated previously, but responses to asymmetrical warming over 24-h periods have never been documented in natural ecosystems. In this study, we examined AM fungal communities in a full factorial design including day-time and night-time warming in a semiarid steppe in northern China. Day-time and 24-h warming, but not night-time warming, significantly increased AM fungal spore density. In contrast, none of the three warming regimes had a sig- nificant effect on AM fungal extra radical hyphal density. A total of 161 operational taxonomic units （OTUs） of AM fungi were recovered by 454 pyrosequencing of 18S rDNA. Day-time, night-time, and 24-h warming all significantly increased AM fungal OTU richness. Some AM fungal OTUs showed a significant bias toward day-time, night-time or 24-h warming. The AM fungal community composition was significantly affected by night-time warming, but not by day-time and 24-h warming. Our finding highlighted dif- ferent responses of AM fungal spore density and community composition to asymmetrical warming. This study might improve our understanding of ecosystem functioning of AM fungal community under global climate change scenarios in a semiarid steppe ecosystem.