Objective  Diversity of the rhizosphere soil fungal community in potato field as affected by the presence of root-knot nematodes was investigated using high-throughput sequencing technique.

  Methods  The properties and bioinformatics of rhizosphere soils surrounding healthy and infested potato plants were compared to analyze the possible effects of differential fungal community on the occurrence and control of the disease.

  Results  There were 526 fungi species belonging to 332 genera, 171 families, 77 orders, 34 classes, 12 phyla, and 3 kingdoms identified from the 6 field specimens. Significantly differentiations on the fungal community diversity and properties of the rhizosphere soils on the healthy and infested potato lots were found. In the infected areas, Basidiomycota was the more abundant phylum, but Ascomycota less, than on the healthy lots. At family level, Nectriaceae and Trimorphomycetaceae were more abundantly found in the soil of diseased plants, while at genus level, Fusarium, Mortierella, and some unclassified Chaetomiaceae more richly in the soil of healthy plants.

  Conclusion   Significant differences in the abundance of fungi in the rhizosphere soils of potatoes infested by the root-knot nematodes and the healthy counterparts were found at phylum, family, and genus levels. The information would aid further study on the occurrence and control of potato root-knot nematodes.