The Microbial Degradation of Natural and Anthropogenic Phosphonates.

ABSTRACT: Phosphonates are compounds containing a direct carbon-phosphorus (C-P) bond, which is particularly resistant to chemical and enzymatic degradation. They are environmentally ubiquitous: some of them are produced by microorganisms and invertebrates, whereas others derive from anthropogenic activities. Because of their chemical stability and potential toxicity, man-made phosphonates pose pollution problems, and many studies have tried to identify biocompatible systems for their elimination. On the other hand, phosphonates are a resource for microorganisms living in environments where the availability of phosphate is limited; thus, bacteria in particular have evolved systems to uptake and catabolize phosphonates. Such systems can be either selective for a narrow subset of compounds or show a b

SUBMITTER: Ruffolo F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10574752 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature