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The Abc of Phosphonate Breakdown: A Mechanism for Bacterial Survival
Author(s) -
Manav M. Cemre,
Sofos Nicholas,
HoveJensen Bjarne,
Brodersen Ditlev E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.201800091
Subject(s) - phosphonate , enzyme , lyase , limiting , biochemistry , bacteria , phosphorus , biology , phosphate , chemistry , genetics , organic chemistry , mechanical engineering , engineering
Bacteria have evolved advanced strategies for surviving during nutritional stress, including expression of specialized enzyme systems that allow them to grow on unusual nutrient sources. Inorganic phosphate (P i ) is limiting in most ecosystems, hence organisms have developed a sophisticated, enzymatic machinery known as carbon‐phosphorus (C‐P) lyase, allowing them to extract phosphate from a wide range of phosphonate compounds. These are characterized by a stable covalent bond between carbon and phosphorus making them very hard to break down. Despite the challenges involved in both synthesizing and catabolizing phosphonates, they are widespread in nature. The enzymes required for the bacterial C‐P lyase pathway have been identified and for the most part structurally characterized. Nevertheless, the mechanistic principles governing breakdown of phosphonate compounds remain enigmatic. In this review, an overview of the C‐P lyase pathway is provided and structural aspects of the involved enzyme complexes are discussed with a special emphasis on the role of ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) proteins.