Summary
Five soil bacterial isolates, originally selected for their ability to utilize the herbicide glyphosate as sole phosphorus source, were characterized with respect to their ability to use a range of other structurally-diverse phosphonates. Most showed broad substrate specificity and strains of Pseudomonas and of Bacillus megaterium were capable of degrading 14 of the other 15 phosphonates investigated. However no isolate was able to utilize isopropyl phosphanate, nor the phosphinate herbicide phosphinothricin. Growth rates on most phosphonates were significantly lower than those sustained by inorganic phosphate, and evidence was obtained for preferential utilization of the latter. In addition, the length of lag phase preceing growth on phosphonates varied widely. These characteristics are believed to reflect the diversity of routes by which such molecules enter bacterial cells and are metabolized.
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Quinn, J.P., Peden, J.M.M. & Dick, R.E. Carbon-phosphorus bond cleavage by Gram-positive and Gram-negative soil bacteria. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 31, 283–287 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00258410
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00258410