The experiment was conducted in the long term P fertilizer trial of INRA research centre at Auzeville (43.5oN, 1.43oE) in south western France. The three P regimes corresponded to fertilizer levels applied since 1968: P0 (no fertilization), P1 (fertilization rate to balance the mean annual P removal by crops) and P4 (fertilization rate representing three-­‐ to four-­‐fold that of P1). Durum wheat and faba bean were grown alone or as durum wheat/faba bean intercrops in this field trial. Their rhizospheres were collected at the faba bean flowering stage, as well as the corresponding bulk soils. Soil DNA and RNA were extracted in these various samples and qPCR was used to assess the number of gene copies of fungi, bacteria, as well as several bacterial phyla (Actinobacteria, α-­‐Proteobacteria and Firmicutes (strongly dominated with P-­‐cycling taxa)) and beta propeller phytase (BPP).