The phosphate-solubilizing ability of and its effects on the growth of in phosphate-limiting conditions.

Microbes in soil can degrade insoluble inorganic and organic phosphorus, which are components of the soil phosphorus cycle and play an important role in plant growth. is a pioneer tree species used for afforestation in southern China and grows in poor, acidic soil. A shortage of available phosphorus in soil limits the growth of To alleviate this situation, it is necessary to improve soil fertility. A fungal strain (JP-NJ2) with the ability to solubilize phosphate was isolated from the rhizosphere. The ability of JP-NJ2 to solubilize inorganic and organic phosphorus and promote the growth of was evaluated. It showed that JP-NJ2 could grow in NBRIP inorganic phosphate (AlPO, FePO·4HO, and Ca[PO]) fermentation broths, with the highest phosphorus concentration (1.93 mg/ml) and phosphate-solubilizing rate (43.7%) for AlPO and in Monkina organic phosphate fermentation broth with a phosphorus concentration of 0.153 mg/ml. The phosphate-solubilizing capability in inorganic and organic fermentation broths was negatively correlated with pH. JP-NJ2-produced acids at a total concentration of 4.7 g/l, which included gluconic (2.3 g/l), oxalic (1.1 g/l), lactic (0.7 g/l) and malonic (0.5 g/l) acids. It prioritized extracellular acidic phosphatase and combined with phytase to solubilize organic phosphates. The fungal suspension and extracellular metabolites from phosphate-solubilizing fungi promoted the shoot length of seedlings by 97.7% and 59.5%, respectively, while increasing the root crown diameter by 46.8% and 27.7%. JP-NJ2 was identified as based on its morphology and phylogenetic analyses of five genes/regions (ITS, , , and ). This is the first report on isolated from pine tree rhizosphere soil in China and its high phosphate-solubilizing capability, which promoted the growth of JP-NJ2 has potential use as a biological fertilizer in forestry and farming.