Browsing by Author "Furtak, Adam"

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    A review of organophosphonates, their natural and anthropogenic sources, environmental fate and impact on microbial greenhouse gases emissions – Identifying knowledge gaps
    (Journal of Environmental Management, 2024-03-01) Furtak, Adam; Szafranek-Nakonieczna, Anna; Furtak, Karolina; Pytlak, Anna
    Organophosphonates (OPs) are a unique group of natural and synthetic compounds, characterised by the presence of a stable, hard-to-cleave bond between the carbon and phosphorus atoms. OPs exhibit high resistance to abiotic degradation, excellent chelating properties and high biological activity. Despite the huge and increasing scale of OP production and use worldwide, little is known about their transportation and fate in the environment. Available data are dominated by information concerning the most recognised organophosphonate – the herbicide glyphosate - while other OPs have received little attention. In this paper, a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge about natural and artificial OPs is presented (including glyphosate). Based on the available literature, a number of knowledge gaps have been identified that need to be filled in order to understand the environmental effects of these abundant compounds. Special attention has been given to GHG-related processes, with a particular focus on CH4. This stems from the recent discovery of OP-dependent CH4 production in aqueous environments under aerobic conditions. The process has changed the perception of the biogeochemical cycle of CH4, since it was previously thought that biological methane formation was only possible under anaerobic conditions. However, there is a lack of knowledge on whether OP-associated methane is also formed in soils. Moreover, it remains unclear whether anthropogenic OPs affect the CH4 cycle, a concern of significant importance in the context of the increasing rate of global warming. The literature examined in this review also calls for additional research into the date of OPs in waste and sewage and in their impact on environmental microbiomes.
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    Differential responses of Type I and Type II methanotrophs to nonanoic (pelargonic) acid and glyphosate
    (Elsevier, 2026) Furtak, Adam; Bilokinna, Anna; Szafranek-Nakonieczna, Anna; Skrzypek, Tomasz; Zięba, Emil; Bieganowski, Andrzej; Pytlak, Anna
    Glyphosate (GLY) is the most widely used herbicide worldwide. However, in organic and conventional farming systems, a natural alternative — nonanoic (pelargonic) acid (PA) — is gaining importance. PA is a non-selective herbicide whose mode of action is through disruption of the cellular membranes. PA is also added to commercial glyphosate formulations as surfactant, thereby increasing the effectiveness of this herbicide. Through agricultural application, both compounds enter the soil environment, which serves as a habitat for methanotrophic bacteria (MB). Methane (CH4) contributes to approximately 20% of the greenhouse effect, and by limiting its net emissions from the environment, MB play a crucial role in mitigating global warming. Therefore, potential disruption of MB activity by herbicides is of great concern. This is the first study to examine the effects of PA, GLY, and their combinations on MB. We demonstrate the negative impact of field-relevant concentration of PA (but not GLY) on Methylomonas methanica and methanotrophic soil enrichment cultures (ECs) dominated by Type I (γ-proteobacteria). Type II (α-proteobacteria) MB were more resilient to PA exposure than Type I MB. The underlying mechanism of this differential response was the variable susceptibility of cellular membranes to disintegration by PA.