Bacterial synthetic microbial communities (SynCom) have exhibited significant effects for enhancing plant growth and delivering ecological benefits. However, persistent challenges, including structural instability, limited environmental adaptability, and transient efficacy, remain critical barriers to their practical application. Herein, we propose Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) as the keystone component to optimize SynCom’s ecological fitness in sustainable agricultural systems. AMF modulate microbiome assembly through hyphal networks, enhancing community stability via facilitative interactions and augmenting nutrient cycling functionalities. This review systematically evaluates methodologies for AMF-based SynCom design and construction, investigates the dynamics of AMF-microbe interactions, delineates plant growth-promoting mechanisms, identifies candidate microbial taxa, and addresses implementation bottlenecks with corresponding strategies. We posit that AMF-Based SynComs represent a transformative management tool for ensuring global food security amid impending climatic perturbations and declining agricultural productivity.

Soil bacterial communities are crucial drivers of nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning; however, their temporal dynamics under arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi colonization remain insufficiently characterized. In this study, we used a non-destructive continuous sampling method and undertook a 90-day pot experiment to examine the process of shaping the bacterial community of hyphosphere soil. Following inoculation with AM fungi, we found an increase in the α-diversity index of the hyphosphere bacterial community. The community diversity and richness and the key bacterial taxa in the hyphosphere both gradually increased from 30 to 60 days and stabilized thereafter. Principal coordinated (PCoA) analysis and network analysis further confirmed these findings. Stabilized by 60 days post-inoculation, with deterministic processes dominating assembly in inoculated AM fungi soils, while stochastic processes prevailed in non-inoculated controls. Inoculation strengthened bacterial associations with available phosphorus, while making the key bacterial communities more responsive to multiple soil physicochemical properties (available P, CEC, N, and TOC). These findings provide critical insights into AM fungi mediation of soil microbiome dynamics, with the identified 60-day stabilization period offering a key temporal framework for understanding tripartite soil–AM fungi-bacteria interactions.