Solubilization of potassium containing minerals by high temperature resistant Streptomyces sp. isolated from earthworm's gut

A potassium solubilizing bacterial strain designated EGT, which is tolerant of high temperature, was isolated from an earthworm's gut to obtain a bacterium that can weather potassium-bearing rock effectively through solid-state fermentation. Molecular phylogeny and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis demonstrated the bacterial strain was a member of the Streptomyces genus. To assess its potential to release potassium from silicate minerals, this strain was used to degrade potassium-bearing rock powder by solid-state fermentation. After fermentation, the amount of water-soluble Al, Fe and K of the substrate with active inoculum was higher than those of the control, which had autoclaved inoculum, and those of the fresh substrate. The result indicated that the strain had the ability to weather potassium-bearing rock and could be used as an inoculum in the production of potassium bio-fertilizer, due to its potassium release activity from rock and tolerance to high temperature.