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Biodegradation of Organophosphorus Pollutants by Soil Bacteria: Biochemical Aspects and Unsolved Problems

  • BIOTECHNOLOGICAL METHODS IN ECOLOGY
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Abstract

The degradation of stable organophosphorus pollutants has been studied in six soil bacterial isolates and three strains of bacteria adapted to utilize glyphosate herbicide (GP) under laboratory conditions. Significant differences in the uptake of organophosphonates were found in taxonomically close strains possessing similar enzymatic pathways of catabolism of these compounds, which suggests the existence of unknown mechanisms for the regulation of the activity of these enzymes. The effect of adaptation to GP utilization as the sole phosphorus source on the consumption rates of several other structurally different phosphonates was observed in the studied bacteria. New, highly efficient degrading strains that resulted in a GP decomposition of up to 56% after soil application were isolated. Unsolved problems of microbial GP metabolism and trends in further research on the creation of effective preparations for the bioremediation of soils contaminated with organophosphonates are discussed.

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Funding

The phosphonatase studies and whole genome sequencing were supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 18-074-00021.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research, Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290, Pushchino, Moscow oblast, Russia

    A. V. Sviridov, T. V. Shushkova, D. O. Epiktetov, S. V. Tarlachkov, I. T. Ermakova & A. A. Leontievsky

  2. Shemyakin—Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Pushchino Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290, Pushchino, Moscow oblast, Russia

    S. V. Tarlachkov

Authors
  1. A. V. Sviridov
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  2. T. V. Shushkova
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  3. D. O. Epiktetov
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  4. S. V. Tarlachkov
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  5. I. T. Ermakova
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  6. A. A. Leontievsky
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Correspondence to A. V. Sviridov.

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Translated by I. Gordon

Abbreviations: 2-AEP—2-aminoethylphosphonate; AMPA—aminomethylphosphonic acid; CFU—colony-forming unit(s); dNTP—deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate; FMN—fosfomycin; GAT—glyphosate acetyl transferase; GOX—glyphosate oxidoreductase; GP—glyphosate; HPLC—high performance liquid chromatography; MLST—multilocus sequence typing; MPA—methylphosphonic acid; NADH—nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (reduced); OP—organophosphonates; PA—phosphonoacetate; PAH—phosphonoacetate hydrolase; PCR—polymerase chain reaction; Pi—orthophosphate; PNT—phosphonatase (phosphonoacetaldehyde hydrolase).

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Sviridov, A.V., Shushkova, T.V., Epiktetov, D.O. et al. Biodegradation of Organophosphorus Pollutants by Soil Bacteria: Biochemical Aspects and Unsolved Problems. Appl Biochem Microbiol 57, 836–844 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0003683821070085

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