Isolation of phosphate-solubilizing fungi from phosphate mines and their effect on wheat seedling growth

Three phosphate-solubilizing fungi, identified as Penicillium expansum, Mucor ramosissimus, and Candida krissii, were isolated from phosphate mines (Hubei, People's Republic of China) and characterized. All the isolates demonstrated diverse levels of phosphate-solubilizing capability in National Botanical Research Institute's phosphate growth medium containing rock phosphate as sole phosphate source. Acidification of culture medium seemed to be the main mechanism for rock phosphate solubilization. Indeed, citric acid, oxalic acid, and gluconic acid were shown to be present in the culture medium inoculated with these isolates. Moreover, the isolates produced acid and alkaline phosphatases in culture medium, which may also be helpful for RP solubilization. A strong negative correlation between content of soluble phosphorus and pH (r = - 0.89; p < 0.01) in culture medium was observed in this study. All the isolates promoted growth, soil available phosphorus, phosphorus, and nitrogen uptake of wheat seedling in field soil containing rock phosphate under pot culture conditions, thus demonstrating the capability of these isolates to convert insoluble form of phosphorus into plant available form from rock phosphate, and therefore hold great potential for development as biofertilizers to enhance soil fertility and promote plant growth.