Elevated public health risks from changes in microbial communities mediated by moso bamboo invasion

The invasion of moso bamboo significantly alters aboveground vegetation, yet its impact on soil microbial communities and associated ecological functions remains under-explored. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a comprehensive survey across 24 sites spanning varying invasion gradients (non-invaded, half-invaded, fully-invaded) along an urbanization transect encompassing mountain, rural, suburban, and urban habitats. Our results reveal that bamboo invasion strengthens deterministic processes governing microbial community assembly. Fungal communities demonstrated stronger deterministic assembly patterns compared to bacteria and served as more reliable bio-indicators of invasion stages, as assessed via random forest modeling. Notably, moso bamboo presence correlated with elevated soil concentrations of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factors (VFs). Rural sites exhibited atypical trends, potentially due to intrinsically high baseline levels of ARGs and VFs. Structural equation modeling clarified that bamboo invasion induces shifts in soil physicochemical properties, which in turn drive deterministic selection of microbial taxa harboring ARGs/VFs-including potential human pathogens. Essentially, restoration of bamboo-dominated ecosystems effectively reduced the abundance of these resistance and virulence elements. Co-occurrence network analyses further identified microbial taxa with pathogen-lysis capabilities, highlighting natural biological control mechanisms within invaded soils. This study deepens understanding of how moso bamboo invasion remodels soil microbiomes and their functional profiles, providing actionable insights for mitigating ecological risks linked to invasive plant dynamics.