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The long-term high intensity continuous cropping with heavy application of mineral fertilization resulted in soil degradation and accumulation of soil-borne plant pathogens. Fungi are key microbial components and closely related to soil health in agroecosystem. In this study, the responses of fungal communities to different agricultural practices were investigated in upland of Ultisol using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing (Illumina MiSeq). The study involved four management treatments: no fertilization (Control), mineral NPK fertilizer (NPK), NPK fertilizer plus peanut straw (NPKS), and NPK fertilizer plus planting green manure (i.e., hairy vetch; NPKG). By comparison with the NPK, application of NPKG significantly increased soil fertility and peanut yield. The NPKS and NPKG significantly increased soil fungal abundance relative to the NPK. Different agricultural practices significantly altered soil fungal community composition in Ultisol. Soil pH and phosphorus content were the two most pivotal drivers shaping fungal community structure. Compared to the NPK, the NPKS and NPKG significantly increased the relative abundance of Basidiomycota. The NPKG increased the relative abundance of certain plant-beneficial fungal taxa and decreased the relative abundance and diversity of plant-pathogen relative to NPK and NPKS, thereby contributing to suppressing continuous cropping barriers and increasing peanut productivity. Overall, our results suggested that planting hairy vetch might outperform NPK or returning peanut straw for improving peanut yield by increasing soil fertility and altering fungal community structure in upland of Ultisol. • Different practices affected fungal abundance and community structure in Ultisol. • Shifts in soil P and pH led to divergence in fungal community among treatments. • Application of hairy vetch decreased the relative abundance of plant-pathogen. • Hairy vetch increased crop yield by improving soil fertility and fungal community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migratory birds travel long distance and link various pathogens. Due to habitat degradation, wintering waterfowls forage together with poultry, increasing the risk of pathogen transmission between hosts. We investigated the fungal communities between wintering Hooded Cranes and Domestic Geese by high-throughput sequencing, and inferred the potential gut pathogens for both hosts at different wintering stages. The fungal community compositions were significantly different between seasons and between the hosts. The negative correlation was found between fungal diversity and pathogenic diversity, with higher fungal diversity and less pathogenic diversity in early stage and less fungal diversity and higher pathogenic diversity in late stage for both hosts. The dissimilarity of pathogenic community compositions decreased from early to late stage, with the quantity of overlapping potential pathogenic OTUs increasing along wintering periods between the two hosts, demonstrating the existence of pathogen cross transmission between the two hosts. Furthermore, the transmission pathway of avian pathogens was mainly from Hooded Cranes to Domestic Geese while the transmission direction of human pathogens was primarily from Domestic Geese to wild cranes. Based on above results, we argued that pathogen cross transmission and underlying outbreak risk of disease should be closely monitored in migratory birds and domestic poultry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]