Abstract

Isolation and identification of phosphate-solubilizing bacterium from soybean Rhizosphere in China

Author(s): Lili Li, Jing Lang, Changli Liu, Hongyi Yang, Min Zhao, Yongcai Lai

Many microorganisms in soil are able to transform insoluble form of phosphorus to an accessible soluble one, contributing to plant nutrition as plant growth-promoting microorganisms. The objective of this work was to isolate, screen and evaluate the phosphate-solubilizing activity of microorganisms in soybean rhizosphere soil, and select potential microbial inoculants. These microorganisms were selected based on the phosphate-solubilizing efficiency in a modified Pikovskaya’s liquid medium culture. The isolates were identified based on the morphological characteristic and nucleotide sequence data from the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) for bacteria. Strain BAâ…¢, identified as Bacillus megaterium, is the most effective one for solubilization of phosphate in medium. Taken together, these results demonstrate that strain BAâ…¢ has the ability to convert nonavailable forms of phosphorus into plant-available forms, therefore, it has a great potential to develop as a bio-fertilizer to enhance soil fertility and promote plant growth.