Inositol Hexaphosphate: II. Synthesis by Soil Microorganisms

Organic phosphorus was accumulated in different soil parent materials, quartz sand, clays, and clay‐sand mixtures by adding organic and inorganic nutrients, moistening, inoculating with soil microorganisms, and incubating the materials for several months. The presence of mesoinositol hexaphosphate and a supposed isomer of this compound was demonstrated in these materials after incubation but not before incubation. Both substances were found in soils, but only meso‐inositol hexaphosphate was found in crude corn phytate. These results indicate that soil microorganisms are capable of synthesizing inositol hexaphosphate and suggest that all the supposed isomer and part of the meso‐inositol hexaphosphate found in soils are synthesized by microorganisms. The remainder of the meso‐inositol hexaphosphate of soils presumably is synthesized by higher plants.