Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Department of Chemical and Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Aug 9;119(32):e2203604119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2203604119. Epub 2022 Aug 2.
Anthropogenic organophosphorus compounds (AOPCs), such as phosphotriesters, are used extensively as plasticizers, flame retardants, nerve agents, and pesticides. To date, only a handful of soil bacteria bearing a phosphotriesterase (PTE), the key enzyme in the AOPC degradation pathway, have been identified. Therefore, the extent to which bacteria are capable of utilizing AOPCs as a phosphorus source, and how widespread this adaptation may be, remains unclear. Marine environments with phosphorus limitation and increasing levels of pollution by AOPCs may drive the emergence of PTE activity. Here, we report the utilization of diverse AOPCs by four model marine bacteria and 17 bacterial isolates from the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. To unravel the details of AOPC utilization, two PTEs from marine bacteria were isolated and characterized, with one of the enzymes belonging to a protein family that, to our knowledge, has never before been associated with PTE activity. When expressed in with a phosphodiesterase, a PTE isolated from a marine bacterium enabled growth on a pesticide analog as the sole phosphorus source. Utilization of AOPCs may provide bacteria a source of phosphorus in depleted environments and offers a prospect for the bioremediation of a pervasive class of anthropogenic pollutants.
人为有机磷化合物（AOPCs），如磷酸三酯，被广泛用作增塑剂、阻燃剂、神经毒剂和杀虫剂。迄今为止，仅鉴定出少数几种具有磷酸三酯酶（PTE）的土壤细菌，PTE 是 AOPC 降解途径中的关键酶。因此，细菌利用 AOPC 作为磷源的程度以及这种适应可能有多普遍尚不清楚。磷限制的海洋环境和 AOPC 污染水平的增加可能会促使 PTE 活性的出现。在这里，我们报告了四种模式海洋细菌和来自地中海和红海的 17 个细菌分离株对多种 AOPC 的利用。为了揭示 AOPC 利用的细节，我们从海洋细菌中分离和表征了两种 PTE，其中一种酶属于一种蛋白质家族，据我们所知，该家族以前从未与 PTE 活性有关。当在 中表达时，一种从海洋细菌中分离出的 PTE 与一种磷酸二酯酶一起，能够以杀虫剂类似物作为唯一的磷源进行生长。AOPC 的利用可为贫营养环境中的细菌提供磷源，并为一种普遍存在的人为污染物的生物修复提供了前景。
