A simpler method for measuring DNA-bound phosphorus could improve understanding of soil microbes and nutrient cycling.
Scientists have created a simpler, more cost-effective way to measure a biologically important form of phosphorus in soil. The method offers a clearer view of how nutrients move through soils and could help guide more sustainable farming practices.
Phosphorus is vital for plant growth and food production around the world, but the natural sources used to make phosphorus fertilizers are limited. To protect soil fertility and reduce environmental harm, scientists need to understand how phosphorus is stored in soil, how it changes form, and how it becomes available to crops.
Measuring active soil phosphorus
In a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, an international group that included scientists from Sultan Qaboos University, James Hutton Institute, the Environment Authority of Oman and other institutions improved a laboratory method for measuring DNA-bound phosphorus (DNA-P) in soils. DNA-bound phosphorus is part of the organic phosphorus pool linked to living microorganisms, making it important for understanding how nutrients cycle through soil.
The group tested and refined an existing analytical procedure, then used the improved method on 32 soil types from across the United Kingdom. The revised process was easier to carry out, less expensive, and still precise and sensitive enough for reliable measurement.
The results showed that enzyme treatments included in the earlier method were not needed, which reduced both cost and complexity. An ultrafiltration step, however, remained necessary because it accurately separated DNA-bound phosphorus from other compounds that also contain phosphorus.
Microbes shape phosphorus availability
DNA-bound phosphorus made up only a small share of total organic phosphorus in the soils, but its levels were strongly connected with soil pH, microbial biomass phosphorus, organic matter, and phosphorus dissolved in soil water. Those links suggest that DNA-bound phosphorus is closely tied to living soil microorganisms rather than to phosphorus stored in more stable, long-term reserves.
Better tools for sustainable farming
The improved method gives scientists a better way to study biologically active phosphorus in soils. It also creates new opportunities to examine how soil microbes help make nutrients available to plants.
As agriculture faces growing pressure to use phosphorus more efficiently, this method could support future work on soil fertility, nutrient management, and more sustainable food production.
Reference: “Soil DNA-Phosphorus: Method Optimization and Application Across UK Soils” by Margaret Massam, Daniel Menezes-Blackburn, Mohammed Al Kasbi, Catherine Wearing, Marc Stutter, Courtney D. Giles, Tegan D. Darch, Timothy S. George, Charles Shand, David Lumsdon, Martin Blackwell, Hao Zhang, Patricia Cooper, Renate Brown, Lawrie Brown and Philip M. Haygarth, 22 May 2026, Journal of Agricultural and Marine Sciences.
DOI: 10.53541/2410-1079.1356
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