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

The degradation of persistent organophosphorus pollutants have been studied in 6 soil bacterial isolates and in 3 bacterial strains adapted for utilization of 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 indicates the existence of unknown mechanisms of activity regulation of these enzymes. The effect of adaptation for GP utilization as a sole phosphorus source on assimilation rates of several other phosphonates was observed in studied bacteria. The newly found efficient stains provided up to 56% of GP decomposition after application to the soil in the laboratory. The unresolved problems of microbial GP metabolism and the trends for further research on the creation of reliable biologicals capable of decomposing organophosphonates in the environment are discussed. organophosphonates, glyphosate, biodegradation, bioremediation, C-P lyase, phosphonatase, degrading bacteria Investigation of phosphonatase and genome sequencing were supported by Russian Science Foundation Grant no. 18-074-00021.