Soil's treasure: Scientists discovered a hidden phosphorus reservoir that could transform the future of food

Published 19 June 2026 · india

The hidden phosphorus reservoir living inside soil microbes The breakthrough was not a new nutrient but a new way to measure it Soil microbes appear

The hidden phosphorus reservoir living inside soil microbes The breakthrough was not a new nutrient but a new way to measure it Soil microbes appear to be the hidden reservoir Why this could matter for future farming A tiny pool with potentially huge importance A growing population and finite phosphorus reserves have made efficient nutrient management one of the biggest challenges facing modern agriculture. Scientists have now uncovered new details about a little-known form of phosphorus hidden within living soil microbes. The findings, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, come from an international team of researchers who developed a simpler and more cost-effective way to measure DNA-bound phosphorus, a biologically active form of the nutrient involved in soil recycling processes. Their work offers fresh insights into how phosphorus moves through soils and could eventually help researchers improve soil fertility and support more sustainable food production systems.Phosphorus is one of the three major nutrients required by plants, alongside nitrogen and potassium. It plays a crucial role in energy transfer, root development and seed production. Unlike nitrogen, phosphorus cannot be extracted from the atmosphere.

Agriculture depends largely on phosphate rock, a non-renewable resource that scientists have long warned could become scarcer and more expensive over time.At the same time, excess phosphorus from fertilisers can pollute rivers and lakes, leading to harmful algal blooms.This has made efficient phosphorus management one of the biggest challenges facing modern agriculture.The research team, led by Margaret Massam and including scientists from Sultan Qaboos University, the James Hutton Institute, Lancaster University and Rothamsted Research, focused on DNA-bound phosphorus, or DNA-P.This form of phosphorus exists inside the DNA of living microorganisms in soil. Although it represents only a small fraction of total organic phosphorus, researchers found that it is closely linked to microbial activity.According to the study, DNA-P concentrations showed strong correlations with soil pH, microbial biomass phosphorus, organic matter content and phosphorus dissolved in soil water. These relationships suggest that DNA-P is associated with living soil organisms rather than stable long-term phosphorus reserves."The modified Paraskova method can be used as an effective way to understand the biological relevance of this functionally important form of phosphorus," the researchers wrote in the paper.The scientists were not searching for a previously unknown nutrient.