Editorial: Mineral Solubilizing Microorganisms (MSM) and Their Applications in Nutrient Bioavailability, Bioweathering and Bioremediation, Vol III

Muhammad Zahid Mumtaz^1,2*Maqshoof Ahmad³Adnan Mustafa⁴

• ¹College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
• ²The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
• ³The Islamia University of Bahawalpur Pakistan, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
• ⁴Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou Branch, Guangzhou, China

Mineral-solubilizing microorganisms (MSM) are key drivers of mineral transformation in soil and play their pivotal role in nutrient cycling, environmental detoxification, and geochemical processes. These diverse microbial communities possess remarkable abilities to solubilize and mobilize essential macroand micronutrients and improve nutrient availability in soil for plant uptake. They drive essential biogeochemical processes by releasing nutrients from insoluble mineral forms. Additionally, MSM are involved in the natural breakdown of rocks and minerals and offer ecologically friendly remediation of the contaminated environment through metal chelation, acidification, and redox transformation. This Vol III of our Research Topic series highlights cutting-edge insights into the mechanisms and ecological significance of MSM, exploring their potential applications in sustainable agriculture, soil fertility enhancement, ecosystem restoration, and remediation technologies. Microorganisms are an integral part of soil biogeochemical cycles involved in promoting soil fertility and the transformation of minerals. MSM has emerged as a key microbial agent in agricultural ecosystems due to its ability to transform insoluble minerals into bioavailable forms. They performed extensive functional roles that promote nutrient uptake in plants by catalyzing mineral weathering and the solubilization of minerals. This editorial compiled the research published in Vol III of the Research Topic by discussing various studies that explore diverse interactions between MSM taxa with minerals and plants and drive critical transformations of minerals. The functional role of MSM in enhancing nutrient bioavailability is a rapidly growing area of research in soil microbiology. MSM are involved in the solubilization of silica and silicate minerals, which are gaining attention due to the role of silicon in plant stress tolerance and improving crop productivity. Lei et al (2025) conducted a bibliometric analysis of global research trends spanning from 1948 to 2024 in the application of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms, which revealed a rapid growth in this field since 2018. Initially, research focus was on the application of Azospirillum brasilense along with rock phosphate, which shifted towards alleviation of abiotic stresses, especially drought and salt stress, and improvement in crop productivity. This study recommended further exploration of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms in improving nutrient availability, soil health, and mitigation of abiotic stresses to support sustainable agriculture.A study by Zhang et al. (2025a) reported the enhancement in phosphorus-associated Arthrobacter sp. M4 and Sordariomycetes 2 MS-M4 activity in response to long-term application of swine manure.These microbial species converted available phosphorus into organic phosphorus under high carbon and phosphorus soil conditions through biological immobilization. While they decompose soil organic carbon and promote phosphorus concentration under limited carbon and phosphorus soil conditions by demonstrating their capacity to transform phosphorus. These phosphorus-associated microorganisms significantly promoted phosphorus availability in soil under long-term swine manure with NPK fertilizer. MSM plays a pivotal role in mineral bioweathering processes by transforming stable and geochemically resistant minerals into bioavailable forms for plant uptake. Bioweathering is a biologically driven transformation and dissolution of minerals by MSM, which are capable of mobilizing essential nutrients from insoluble mineral forms. This microbial bioweathering process takes place through microbial acidolysis, chelation, enzymatic degradation, and redox reactions that collectively break down primary and secondary mineral structures. Vol III of our Research Topic publishes work on mineral solubilization by MSM, including phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms (Arunachalam et al., 2024;Lei et al., 2025;Zhang et al., 2025a), zinc-solubilizing rhizobacteria (Jalal- Ud-Din et al., 2024), and silicasolubilizing rhizobacteria (Maharjan et al., 2025), which play a pivotal role in natural rock weathering and soil genesis processes. The application of such MSM offers a sustainable biological tool for ecosystem restoration through mineral weathering in degraded geological substrates of nutrient-poor or extremely weathered landscapes. In bioweathering, the action of MSM is not only limited to nutrient solubilization, but these microorganisms also release the elements from polymineralic substrates. These microbial processes are central to nutrient dynamics in agroecosystems, especially under conditions of nutrient depletion or intensive cropping. The diversity and adaptability of MSM across various edaphic and climatic conditions highlight their value as biological agents for increasing soil nutrient cycling through bioweathering. Environmental contaminants, especially heavy metal pollution, continue to pose an ecological threat to both agricultural and mining-impacted lands. Utilization of MSM for bioremediation is a cost- 2024) explored the co-application of Azospirillum brasilense and seaweed extract to combat arsenic toxicity in wheat. This dual treatment improved nutrient availability and plant physiological attributes by reducing arsenic uptake in wheat. Such combinations highlight a promising future in integrating biofertilization and stress mitigation through MSMs and organic stimulants. These studies highlight the possible application of MSM in the alleviation of heavy metal stress and soil restoration.The application of microbial inoculants with soil amendments demonstrated a powerful, environmentally friendly solution to heavy metal contamination. Empowering soils with microbial inoculants is not just a remediation strategy, but it is a sustainable path toward ecological restoration and agricultural sustainability.