Follow
International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences (IJCMAS)
Home Editorial Board Current Issue Special Issue Archives Indexing Submit Article
Instruction to Authors Manuscript Charges Copyright Form Model Manuscript Process Flow (Time Frame) FAQ
Reviewer Guidelines Selection of Reviewers Join our Team of Reviewers Apply as Reviewer Reviewer Login
Editorial Review Policy Embargo Policy Ethical Expectations Consent For Identifying Information Informed Consent Manuscript Withdrawal Policy Peer Review Process Plagiarism Policy Ethical Violations Appeal Policy Against Editorial Decision Advertising Policies Authorship Policy
Access Policies Authorship Publication Policy Publication Ethics Complaints Policy Confidential Information Conflicts of Interest Policy Consent for Copyrighted Material Copyright Policy Corrections and Retractions Digital Preservation Policy Research On Human And Animal Studies Open Access Policy
Publication Ethics Contact
IJCMAS is now DOI (CrossRef) registered Research Journal. The DOIs are assigned to all published IJCMAS Articles.
Index Copernicus ICI Journals Master List 2023 - IJCMAS--ICV 2023: 95.56 For more details click here
National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) : NAAS Score: *5.38 (2020) [Effective from January 1, 2020] For more details click here

Join as a Reviewer

Login as a Reviewer

Indexed in



National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)
NAAS Score: *5.38 (2020)
[Effective from January 1, 2020]
For more details click here
ICV 2023: 95.56
Index Copernicus ICI Journals Master List 2023 - IJCMAS--ICV 2023: 95.56
For more details click here
Announcement

See Guidelines to Authors
Current Issues
Download Publication Certificate

Original Research Articles                      Volume : 15, Issue:2, February, 2026
PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706
Issues : 12 per year
Publisher : Excellent Publishers
Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com /
submit@ijcmas.com
Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash
Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39
NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38
Metrics and citations

Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci.2026.15(2): 189-198
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2026.1502.019


Phosphate-Solubilising Bacteria: Microbial Catalysts for Sustainable Agronomy and Geobiotechnological Applications
Devanshi Patel and Nilofar Bhatti*
Department of Microbiology, Monark University, Ahmedabad-382330, India
*Corresponding author
Abstract:

Phosphate-solubilising microorganisms (PSMs), a phylogenetically heterogeneous assemblage of bacteria and fungi, occupy a singular functional niche at the intersection of microbial ecology and biotechnological innovation. Through acidification, chelation, and enzymatic hydrolysis, taxa including Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Rhizobium liberate orthophosphate from recalcitrant mineral and organic pools, rendering it accessible to plant roots. This capacity sustains not only crop nutrition and yield but also fortifies plant tolerance against salinity and drought while mitigating metal mobility in polluted matrices. Yet for all their laboratory promise, PSMs have not fully crossed the threshold into mainstream agricultural practice. The impediments are human in scale: costly production pipelines, formulations that fail to preserve viability, and the ecological reality that foreign microbes often struggle to find their place in already settled soil communities. Encouragingly, the field is moving beyond proof-of-concept. Cheaper fermentation substrates, protective seed coatings, and regionally adapted isolates are narrowing the gap between potential and performance. Meanwhile, metagenomics tools are unveiling a hidden world of phosphate-solubilising diversity, and synthetic biology offers the prospect of purpose-built strains equipped for both catalytic efficiency and rhizosphere competence. As PSMs begin to find roles beyond the field of degrading organophosphate pollutants or recovering phosphorus from eutrophic waters, they increasingly embody a broader ambition: to rewire nutrient economies along more circular, less extractive lines.


Keywords: Phosphate-solubilising microorganisms, Biofertilizer, Sustainable agriculture, Microbial ecology, Metagenomics, Synthetic biology, Bioremediation, Nutrient cycling.

References:
  1. Rawat P, Shankhdhar D, Shankhdhar SC. Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria: A Booster for Ameliorating Soil Health and Agriculture Production. In 2020. p. 47–68.  
  2. Rodríguez H, Fraga R. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria and their role in plant growth promotion. Biotechnol Adv. 1999 Oct;17(4–5):319–39.
  3. Beheshti M, Alikhani HA, Pourbabaee AA, Etesami H, Asadi Rahmani H, Noroozi M. Enriching periphyton with phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms improves the growth and concentration of phosphorus and micronutrients of rice plant in calcareous paddy soil. Rhizosphere [Internet]. 2022 Dec; 24:100590.  
  4. Sekurova ON, Schneider O, Zotchev SB. Novel bioactive natural products from bacteria via bioprospecting, genome mining and metabolic engineering. Microb Biotechnol [Internet]. 2019 Sep 4; 12(5):828–44.  
  5. Osanai T, Shirai T, Iijima H, Nakaya Y, Okamoto M, Kondo A, et al., Genetic manipulation of a metabolic enzyme and a transcriptional regulator increasing succinate excretion from unicellular cyanobacterium. Front Microbiol. 2015; 6(OCT):1–10.
  6. Liu YQ, Wang YH, Kong WL, Liu WH, Xie XL, Wu XQ. Identification, cloning and expression patterns of the genes related to phosphate solubilization in Burkholderia multivorans WS-FJ9 under different soluble phosphate levels. AMB Express [Internet]. 2020 Dec 5;10(1):108.
  7. Chen X, Wang C, He B, Wan Z, Zhao Y, Hu F, et al., Transcriptome Profiling of Transposon-Derived Long Non-coding RNAs Response to Hormone in Strawberry Fruit Development. Front Plant Sci. 2022; 13(June):1–11.
  8. He B, Meng L, Tang L, Qi W, Hu F, Lv Y, et al., The Landscape of Alternative Splicing Regulating Potassium Use Efficiency in Nicotiana tabacum. Front Plant Sci [Internet]. 2021 Nov 8; 12.  
  9. Chen X, Meng L, He B, Qi W, Jia L, Xu N, et al., Comprehensive Transcriptome Analysis Uncovers Hub Long Non-coding RNAs Regulating Potassium Use Efficiency in Nicotiana tabacum. Front Plant Sci. 2022; 13(March):1–12.
  10. Chen H, Zhang J, Tang L, Su M, Tian D, Zhang L, et al., Enhanced Pb immobilization via the combination of biochar and phosphate solubilizing bacteria. Environ Int [Internet]. 2019 Jun; 127: 395–401.  
  11. Pinilla P, Ruiz J, Lobo MC, Martínez-Iñigo MJ. Degradation of oxadiazon in a bioreactor integrated in the water closed circuit of a plant nursery. Bioresour Technol [Internet]. 2008 May; 99(7):2177–81.  
  12. Bechtaoui N, Rabiu MK, Raklami A, Oufdou K, Hafidi M, Jemo M. Phosphate-Dependent Regulation of Growth and Stresses Management in Plants. Front Plant Sci. 2021; 12(October).
  13. Dolnicar S, Chapple A, Trees AJ "ANGIOSTRONGYLUS VINDINW. VR 120. 1. (1987): 424 424. (1987): 424 424. (1987): 424 424., Team RC, Mobley CD, Fenkçi IV, Maternal Fizyoloji. “Çiçek MN, Ed.” Kad?n Hastal?klar? ve Do?um Bilgisi, Öncü Bas?mevi A (2004): 161 9., et al., Scholar (4) [Internet]. Vol. 3, Why We Need the Journal of Interactive Advertising. 1997. p. 45.  
  14. Alori ET, Glick BR, Babalola OO. Microbial Phosphorus Solubilization and Its Potential for Use in Sustainable Agriculture. Front Microbiol [Internet]. 2017 Jun 2;8.  
  15. Dolnicar S, Chapple A. Scholar (6) [Internet]. Annals of Tourism Research. 2015.  
  16. Mumtaz MZ, Ahmad M, Etesami H, Mustafa A. Editorial: Mineral solubilizing microorganisms (MSM) and their applications in nutrient bioavailability, bioweathering and bioremediation, volume II. Vol. 14, Frontiers in Microbiology. 2023.
  17. Yus, a Bruns, S. CH, Turnbull D, Dolnicar S, Chapple A, et al., The purification and properties of phosphonoacetate hydrolase, a novel carbon?phosphorus bond?cleavage enzyme from Pseudomonas fluorescens [Internet]. Vol. 10, Mass Communication and Society. 1974. p. 349–83.  
  18. Bruns a, Turnbull CHS and D, Dolnicar S, Chapple A, Adorno T, Horkheimer M, et al., Bacterial solubilization of mineral phosphates: historical perspective and future prospects. [Internet]. Vol. 3, Mass Communication and Society. 1974. p. 349–83.  
  19. Turnbull CHS, D., Dolnicar S, Chapple A, Adorno T, Horkheimer M, et al., Bacterial solubilization of mineral phosphates: historical perspective and future prospects. [Internet]. Vol. 10, Why We Need the Journal of Interactive Advertising. 2004. p. 349–83.  
  20. Oscier C, Bosley N, Milner Q. Growth promotion of plants inoculated with phosphate-solubilizing fungi. Vol. 24, Update in Anaesthesia. 2008. p. 112–4.
  21. Illmer P, Schinner F. Solubilization of inorganic phosphates by microorganisms isolated from forest soils. Soil Biol Biochem [Internet]. 1992 Apr; 24(4):389–95.  
  22. GUPTA R, SINGAL R, SHANKAR A, KUHAD RC, SAXENA RK. A modified plate assay for screening phosphate solubilizing microorganisms. J Gen Appl Microbiol [Internet]. 1994; 40(3):255–60.  
  23. Rodr??guez H, Fraga R. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria and their role in plant growth promotion. Biotechnol Adv [Internet]. 1999 Oct; 17(4–5):319–39.
  24. Narsian V, Patel H. Aspergillus aculeatus as a rock phosphate solubilizer. Soil Biol Biochem [Internet]. 2000 Apr; 32(4):559–65.  
  25. Ahmed Rafiq, Abbasi Rabiya, Martinez Pablo. Microbial solubilization of different inorganic phosphates. The digitization of agricultural industry- a systematic literature review on agriculture. 2022.
  26. Halder AK, Chakrabartty PK. Solubilization of inorganic phosphate byRhizobium. Folia Microbiol (Praha) [Internet]. 1993 Aug; 38(4):325–30.  
  27. Mpanga IK, Ludewig U, Dapaah HK, Neumann G. Acquisition of rock phosphate by combined application of ammonium fertilizers and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 in maize as affected by soil pH. J Appl Microbiol [Internet]. 2020 Oct 3; 129(4): 947–57.  
  28. Jensen, G. R., Solberg, D. P., & Zorn TS. Scholar (15). 1992.
  29. Tian D, Xia J, Zhou N, Xu M, Li X, Zhang L, et al., The Utilization of Phosphogypsum as a Sustainable Phosphate-Based Fertilizer by Aspergillus niger. Agronomy [Internet]. 2022 Mar 6; 12(3): 646.  
  30. Sarmah R, Sarma AK. Phosphate Solubilizing Microorganisms: A Review. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal [Internet]. 2023 May 31; 54(10):1306–15.  
  31. Chen H, Tang L, Wang Z, Su M, Tian D, Zhang L, et al., Evaluating the protection of bacteria from extreme Cd (II) stress by P-enriched biochar. Environ Pollut [Internet]. 2020 Aug; 263: 114483.  
  32. Lai W, Wu Y, Zhang C, Dilinuer Y, Pasang L, Lu Y, et al., Combination of Biochar and Phosphorus Solubilizing Bacteria to Improve the Stable Form of Toxic Metal Minerals and Microbial Abundance in Lead/Cadmium-Contaminated Soil. Agronomy [Internet]. 2022 Apr 22; 12(5):1003.  
  33. Billah M, Khan M, Bano A, Hassan TU, Munir A, Gurmani AR. Phosphorus and phosphate solubilizing bacteria: Keys for sustainable agriculture. Geomicrobiol J [Internet]. 2019 Nov 26; 36(10):904–16.
  34. Kour D, Rana KL, Sheikh I, Kumar V, Yadav AN, Dhaliwal HS, et al., Alleviation of Drought Stress and Plant Growth Promotion by Pseudomonas libanensis EU-LWNA-33, a Drought-Adaptive Phosphorus-Solubilizing Bacterium. Proc Natl Acad Sci India Sect B Biol Sci [Internet]. 2020 Oct 11; 90(4):785–95.  
  35. Paul S, Dukare AS, Bandeppa, Manjunatha BS, Annapurna K. Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria for Abiotic Stress Alleviation in Crops. In 2017. p. 57–79.
  36. Chen H, Min F, Hu X, Ma D, Huo Z. Biochar assists phosphate solubilizing bacteria to resist combined Pb and Cd stress by promoting acid secretion and extracellular electron transfer. J Hazard Mater [Internet]. 2023 Jun; 452: 131176.  
  37. Feng Y, Zhang L, Li X, Wang L, Yusef KK, Gao H, et al., Remediation of Lead Contamination by Aspergillus niger and Phosphate Rocks under Different Nitrogen Sources. Agronomy [Internet]. 2022 Jul 8; 12(7):1639.  
  38. Jokkaew S, Jantharadej K, Pokhum C, Chawengkijwanich C, Suwannasilp BB. Free and Encapsulated Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria for the Enhanced Dissolution of Swine Wastewater-Derived Struvite—An Attractive Approach for Green Phosphorus Fertilizer. Sustainability [Internet]. 2022 Oct 4; 14(19):12627.  
  39. Goljanian-Tabrizi S, Amiri S, Nikaein D, Motesharrei Z. The comparison of five low cost liquid formulations to preserve two phosphate solubilizing bacteria from the genera Pseudomonas and Pantoea. Iran J Microbiol. 2016; 8(6):377–82.
  40. Lobo CB, Juárez Tomás MS, Viruel E, Ferrero MA, Lucca ME. Development of low-cost formulations of plant growth-promoting bacteria to be used as inoculants in beneficial agricultural technologies. Microbiol Res [Internet]. 2019 Feb; 219: 12–25.
  41. Nacoon S, Jogloy S, Riddech N, Mongkolthanaruk W, Kuyper TW, Boonlue S. Interaction between Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Growth Promotion and Tuber Inulin Content of Helianthus tuberosus L. Sci Rep [Internet]. 2020 Mar 18; 10(1):4916.
  42. Yahya M, Rasul M, Sarwar Y, Suleman M, Tariq M, Hussain SZ, et al., Designing Synergistic Biostimulants Formulation Containing Autochthonous Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria for Sustainable Wheat Production. Front Microbiol [Internet]. 2022 May 3; 13.
  43. Song P, Xu D, Yue J, Ma Y, Dong S, Feng J. Recent advances in soil remediation technology for heavy metal contaminated sites: A critical review. Sci Total Environ [Internet]. 2022 Sep; 838: 156417.  
Download this article as Download

How to cite this article:

Devanshi Patel and Nilofar Bhatti. 2026. Phosphate-Solubilising Bacteria: Microbial Catalysts for Sustainable Agronomy and Geobiotechnological Applications.Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci. 15(2): 189-198. doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2026.1502.019
Copyright: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Citations
Home | Terms of Use | Copyright Form 2012-2026 Copy rights reserved IJCMAS. Powered by ThinkNEXT Technologies