Acidification-based mineral weathering mechanism involves a glucose/methanol/choline oxidoreductase in PML1(12).

Unlabelled: While mineral weathering (MWe) plays a key role in plant growth promotion and soil fertility, the molecular mechanisms and the genes used by bacteria to weather minerals remain poorly characterized. Acidification-based dissolution is considered the primary mechanism used by bacteria. This mechanism is historically associated with the conversion of glucose to protons and gluconic acid through the action of particular glucose dehydrogenases (GDH) dependent on the pyrroquinoline quinone (PQQ) cofactor.

The non-ribosomal peptide synthetase-independent siderophore (NIS) rhizobactin produced by PML1(12) confers the ability to weather minerals.

To mobilize nutrients entrapped into minerals and rocks, heterotrophic bacteria living in nutrient-poor environments have developed different mechanisms based mainly on acidolysis and chelation. However, the genetic bases of these mechanisms remain unidentified. To fill this gap, we considered the model strain PML1(12) known to be effective at weathering.