Frontiers in fungal phosphatases: molecular diversity, regulatory mechanisms, analytical methodologies, ecological significance, and prospects for sustainable utilization

Phosphorus is an indispensable macronutrient essential for all forms of life, as it plays a central role in cellular energy metabolism, nucleic acid synthesis, and structural integrity. Since organisms can only absorb dissolved inorganic phosphate, the phosphatase enzyme is important in the process of converting organic phosphorus into forms that are bioavailable. Fungal phosphatases are a vastly diverse and heterogeneous functional and structural category that catalyzes the liberation of phosphates in a wide variety of organic compounds and facilitates the mobilization of phosphorus in the soil and symbiotic interactions. This review summarizes the existing information on fungal phosphatases, their classification, molecular regulation, methods of their analysis, ecological significance, and biotechnological use. Bibliometric analysis has been conducted using 3,944 publications published between 1944 and June-2025, and the analysis rate has shown an increase of 7.11% which indicates the rising relevance of the research. Phosphate-sensitive transcriptional networks (PHO/PHR pathways), nutrient signaling (TOR), MAPK cascades, and post-translational modifications control their activity. Analytical methods have either the traditional colorimetric assays or fluorometric and omics-based ones, such as transcriptomics and proteomics. These enzymes mediate organic phosphorus mineralization, symbiotic nutrient exchange in mycorrhizal systems, saprotrophic decomposition, and global phosphorus cycling, which are ecologically relevant. Its uses would be in biofertilizers, soil nutrient management, recovery of phosphorus in waste, industrial bioprocesses, and climate-smart agriculture. Nevertheless, a number of gaps exist in terms of the phosphatase diversity in non-model fungi, complexity of regulatory networks, and methodological sophistication. To promote sustainable phosphorus management, the combination of molecular, ecological and applied viewpoints is a requirement, especially due to the global exhaustion of phosphorus resources and the necessity of environmental sustainability.