Isolation and genomic characterization of Bacillus X32: a potent phosphate-solubilizing bacterium with growth-promoting effects on navel orange seedlings.
Phosphorus is an essential element for plant growth. However, in nature, most phosphorus exists in the form of insoluble compounds that plants cannot directly absorb, leading to phosphorus deficiency in agricultural systems. With increasing demand for economic crops such as citrus and the decline in soil fertility due to current management practices, there is a growing need for environmentally friendly fertilizers to improve and restore soil conditions. In this study, a highly efficient phosphate‑solubilizing strain X32 was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Gannan navel oranges. Systematic genomic analysis identified it as a putative novel species within the genus Bacillus, showing the closest phylogenetic relationship to Bacillus spizizenii. However, both the average nucleotide identity (ANI = 93.18%) and digital DNA‑DNA hybridization (dDDH = 50.4%) values fell below the established thresholds for species delineation, indicating significant genomic differentiation. Whole‑genome sequencing further revealed that strain X32 harbors multiple functional genes potentially related to phosphorus metabolism, including inorganic phosphate‑solubilizing genes (e.g., gdh and gltA), phosphate transport genes (e.g., glpT, pstA, pstB, pstC), and phosphorus mineralization genes (e.g., phoA, phoD). Pot experiment results demonstrated that inoculation with strain X32 significantly promoted the growth of navel orange seedlings, as evidenced by marked increases in both aboveground and belowground fresh and dry weights, as well as plant height. Additionally, strain X32 significantly enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, POD) and regulated the content of chlorophyll b in seedling leaves, these changes suggest that strain X32 may enhance stress resistance in plants and influence photosynthetic pigment composition, though direct measurements of photosynthetic performance are needed for confirmation. This study provides a theoretical basis for developing microbial fertilizers with efficient phosphorus solubilization and plant growth-promoting functions, which may help reduce dependence on phosphorus fertilizers and promote sustainable agricultural development.