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Organophosphonates revealed: new insights into the microbial metabolism of ancient molecules

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 11, pages 412–419 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Key Points

  • Organophosphonates are ancient molecules that predate phosphates as the most abundant form of P in the biosphere.

  • They contain the chemically stable C–P bond.

  • Synthetic phosphonates have a wide range of technological applications in the agricultural, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

  • Biogenic phosphonates provide alternative nutrient sources for organisms in oligotrophic environments, thereby playing a central role in global P cycling.

  • There have been several recent significant advances in our understanding of the biochemistry and genetics of microbial phosphonate metabolism, as well as insights into the part played by these compounds and the organisms engaged in their environmental turnover.

Abstract

Organophosphonates are ancient molecules that contain the chemically stable C–P bond, which is considered a relic of the reducing atmosphere on primitive earth. Synthetic phosphonates now have a wide range of applications in the agricultural, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. However, the existence of C–P compounds as contemporary biogenic molecules was not discovered until 1959, with the identification of 2-aminoethylphosphonic acid in rumen protozoa. Here, we review advances in our understanding of the biochemistry and genetics of microbial phosphonate metabolism, and discuss the role of these compounds and of the organisms engaged in their turnover within the P cycle.

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Figure 1: Chemical structures of a range of biogenic organophosphonates.
Figure 2: Phosphonoacetaldehyde is the central building block for organophosphonate assembly.
Figure 3: Model of phosphate regulon signal transduction.
Figure 4: The reaction catalysed by C–P lyase, and the proposed mechanism of enzyme action.
Figure 5: Pathways for the microbial metabolism of phosphonates.
Figure 6: The global P cycle.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank their present and former laboratory colleagues and their external collaborators for many helpful and stimulating discussions on phosphonate metabolism over many years.

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  1. School of Biological Sciences and the Institute for Global Food Security, The Queens University of Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland

    John W. McGrath, Jason P. Chin & John P. Quinn

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McGrath, J., Chin, J. & Quinn, J. Organophosphonates revealed: new insights into the microbial metabolism of ancient molecules. Nat Rev Microbiol 11, 412–419 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3011

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