Novel Associations between Phosphate Accumulating Fungi and Plants for Improved P Uptake

Phosphorus (P), an essential macronutrient for plant growth, is vital for several key plant functions including energy transfer, photosynthesis, transformation of sugars and starches, nutrient movement within plants, and growth and development of new tissues. Although the total P content in soil (average 0.05% w/w) is sufficient for plant growth, only 0.1% of the total P in soil is plant available phosphate. Phosphorus uptake by plants from soil can be greatly improved by fungal root symbionts such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and phosphate solubilizing organisms (PSO). This research investigates the possibility of phosphate accumulating organisms (PAO), which are capable of rapid and massive accumulation of polyphosphate in microorganisms, to not only function similarly to mycorrhizal fungi in aiding P acquisition but also facilitate the transformation of organic P compounds from soil for more efficient utilization of plant unavailable P. The results of this study also have potential industrial applications for biofertilizer development to support global food production.