TY - GEN A1 - Hertel, Robert A1 - Gibhardt, Johannes A1 - Martienssen, Marion A1 - Kuhn, Ramona A1 - Commichau, Fabian M. T1 - Molecular mechanisms underlying glyphosate resistance in bacteria T2 - Environmental Microbiology N2 - Glyphosate is a nonselective herbicide that kills weeds and other plants competing with crops. Glyphosate specifically inhibits the 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase, thereby depleting the cell of EPSP serving as a precursor for biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids. Glyphosate is considered to be toxicologically safe for animals and humans. Therefore, it became the most-important herbicide in agriculture. However, its intensive application in agriculture is a serious environmental issue because it may negatively affect the biodiversity. A few years after the discovery of the mode of action of glyphosate, it has been observed that bacteria evolve glyphosate resistance by acquiring mutations in the EPSP synthase gene, rendering the encoded enzyme less sensitive to the herbicide. The identification of glyphosate-resistant EPSP synthase variants paved the way for engineering crops tolerating increased amounts of the herbicide. This review intends to summarize the molecular mechanisms underlying glyphosate resistance in bacteria. Bacteria can evolve glyphosate resistance by (i) reducing glyphosate sensitivity or elevating production of the EPSP synthase, by (ii) degrading or (iii) detoxifying glyphosate and by (iv) decreasing the uptake or increasing the export of the herbicide. The variety of glyphosate resistance mechanisms illustrates the adaptability of bacteria to anthropogenic substances due to genomic alterations. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.15534 SN - 1462-2920 SN - 1462-2912 VL - 23 IS - 6 SP - 2891 EP - 2905 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hertel, Robert A1 - Schöne, Kerstin A1 - Mittelstädt, Carolin A1 - Meißner, Janek A1 - Zschoche, Nick A1 - Collignon, Madeline A1 - Kohler, Christian A1 - Friedrich, Ines A1 - Schneider, Dominik A1 - Hoppert, Michael A1 - Kuhn, Ramona A1 - Schwedt, Inge A1 - Scholz, Patricia A1 - Poehlein, Anja A1 - Martienssen, Marion A1 - Ischebeck, Till A1 - Daniel, Rolf A1 - Commichau, Fabian M. T1 - Characterization of glyphosate-resistant Burkholderia anthina and Burkholderia cenocepacia isolates from a commercial Roundup® solution T2 - Environmental Microbiology Reports N2 - Roundup® is the brand name for herbicide solutions containing glyphosate, which specifically inhibits the 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase of the shikimate pathway. The inhibition of the EPSP synthase causes plant death because EPSP is required for biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids. Glyphosate also inhibits the growth of archaea, bacteria, Apicomplexa, algae and fungi possessing an EPSP synthase. Here, we have characterized two glyphosate-resistant bacteria from a Roundup solution. Taxonomic classification revealed that the isolates 1CH1 and 2CH1 are Burkholderia anthina and Burkholderia cenocepacia strains respectively. Both isolates cannot utilize glyphosate as a source of phosphorus and synthesize glyphosate-sensitive EPSP synthase variants. Burkholderia. anthina 1CH1 and B. cenocepacia 2CH1 tolerate high levels of glyphosate because the herbicide is not taken up by the bacteria. Previously, it has been observed that the exposure of soil bacteria to herbicides like glyphosate promotes the development of antibiotic resistances. Antibiotic sensitivity testing revealed that the only the B. cenocepacia 2CH1 isolate showed increased resistance to a variety of antibiotics. Thus, the adaptation of B. anthina 1CH1 and B. cenocepacia 2CH1 to glyphosate did not generally increase the antibiotic resistance of both bacteria. However, our study confirms the genomic adaptability of bacteria belonging to the genus Burkholderia. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.13022 SN - 1758-2229 VL - 14 IS - 1 SP - 70 EP - 84 ER -