Rhizosphere-associated bacterial network structure and spatial distribution differ significantly from bulk soil in wheat crop fields

- Bacterial communities differed dramatically between bulk and rhizospheric soils.
- Soil pH was an important factor for bacterial distribution in wheat crop fields.
- Bacterial communities in rhizosphere formed hub-based network topology.
- Geographic distance contributed more to bacterial distribution in rhizosphere.

The spatial distribution of bacteria in bulk soil has been well studied, but little is known about the bacterial biogeography in the rhizosphere of crops. Here, we investigated bacterial distribution in bulk soil, loosely- and tightly-bound soils, from wheat fields distributed across 800,000 km2 of the North China Plain. Bacterial community composition differed dramatically among bulk and rhizospheric soils, and bacterial diversity decreased with the root proximity. Soil pH correlated with bacterial community composition and diversity in three compartments. Bacterial community in tightly bound soil formed a hub-based network topology with higher transitivity and greater number of central nodes compared with loosely bound and bulk soils, potentially as a result of more direct ecological interactions between the members of the tightly bound soil compartment. Bulk and rhizospheric soils maintained similar compositional distance decay patterns (with equal decay rates), but distinct phylogenetic distance decay patterns (with steeper slope of tightly bound soil). Geographical distance described a relatively greater proportion of bacterial spatial distribution in tightly bound soil, compared with loosely bound soil and bulk soil. Deterministic processes dominated the assemblage of bacterial communities in all soil compartments, while phylogenetic clustering was weaker in tightly bound soil. Taken together, our results suggest distinct bacterial network structure and distribution patterns among bulk soil, loosely bound soil and tightly bound rhizospheric soil, which could possibly result in potential functional differentiation.