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Isolation of Native Soil Microorganisms with Potential for Breaking Down Biodegradable Plastic Mulch Films Used in Agriculture
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Isolation of Native Soil Microorganisms with Potential for Breaking Down Biodegradable Plastic Mulch Films Used in Agriculture

Published on: May 10, 2013

[Microbial degradation of organophosphonates by soil bacteria]

I T Ermakova, T V Shushkova, A A Leont'evskiĭ

    Mikrobiologiia
    |November 14, 2008
    PubMed

    Insights

    Bacteria capable of degrading organophosphonates (OP) were isolated from polluted soil. All strains utilized methylphosphonic acid (MPA), and some degraded glyphosate (GP), showing potential for bioremediation.

    Area of Science:

    • Microbiology
    • Environmental Science
    • Biotechnology

    Background:

    • Organophosphonates (OP) are environmental pollutants.
    • Microbial degradation offers a sustainable solution for OP remediation.
    • Understanding microbial utilization of phosphorus sources like glyphosate (GP) and methylphosphonic acid (MPA) is crucial.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To isolate and characterize bacteria capable of utilizing glyphosate (GP) and methylphosphonic acid (MPA) as sole phosphorus sources.
    • To assess the stability of the isolates' degradative activity under various storage conditions.
    • To evaluate the impact of inoculum preparation on organophosphonate biodegradation efficiency.

    Main Methods:

    • Isolation of bacteria from organophosphonate-polluted soil.
    • Cultivation and identification of bacterial strains.
    • Assessment of growth on glyphosate (GP) and methylphosphonic acid (MPA) as sole phosphorus sources.
    • Evaluation of cell viability and degradative activity after storage (lyophilization, freezing).
    • Comparison of biodegradation efficiency using phosphorus-starved versus non-starved cells.

    Main Results:

    • Bacterial strains capable of utilizing organophosphonates (OP) as a sole phosphorus source were successfully isolated.
    • All isolates demonstrated the ability to utilize methylphosphonic acid (MPA).
    • Some strains from glyphosate (GP)-polluted soil could utilize both GP and MPA; no strains utilized only GP.
    • Isolates maintained high degradative activity after long-term storage.
    • Using phosphorus-starved cells as inoculum increased OP biodegradation efficiency by 1.5-fold.

    Conclusions:

    • Microbial communities in organophosphonate-polluted soils harbor bacteria with significant potential for degrading these compounds.
    • Methylphosphonic acid (MPA) appears to be a more universally utilized phosphorus source among these isolates compared to glyphosate (GP).
    • Optimized inoculum preparation (e.g., using phosphorus-starved cells) can enhance the efficiency of microbial organophosphonate biodegradation, highlighting potential for bioremediation applications.

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