The proposed study will investigate microbial mechanisms for the solubilization of phosphorous minerals to enhance their bioavailability. Due to the intrinsic insolubility of phosphorous, only 20-30% of applied fertilizer is available to cultivated crops with the remaining 70-80% present as insoluble non- bioavailable minerals. Identification of the microbial mechanism for maintaining elevated phosphate solubility is important to improving the efficiency of the agricultural application of this critical nutrient to soils and stretch our limited global reserves beyond the 70-200 years predicted based on current consumption rates.
UC PI:
John Coates
Plant and Microbial Biology, UC Berkeley
France PI
Karim Benzerara
Institut de Mineralogie, Physique des Matériaux et Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Université