Introduction: The development of agriculture and the widespread use of various insecticides have resulted in extensive contamination of drinking water sources used by humans. One solution to prevent the spread of contamination is the degradation of these insecticides within the soil environment before they reach drinking water supply. Certain bacteria possess the ability to degrade various types of insecticides, and in this context, we present an overview of some bacteria that impact fenitrothion biodegradation, a widely used insecticide found in different locations
Methods: Organophosphorus insecticides such as fenitrothion (with the chemical formula: O, O-dimethyl O-p-nitro-m-tolyl phosphorothioate) are used to control various populations of insects. .1
In natural conditions Fenitrothion, as an organic poison is a yellow-brown liquid with a distinct smell. Fenitrothion enters the market with different formulations (7).
Because of its limited solubility in water, fenitrothion exhibits low penetration into underground water. However, its binding to the soil is relatively robust, and depending on the level of aeration, it can remain in the soil and even in water for weeks to months.
Results: Very small amounts of it evaporate and degrade in the atmosphere within a few days to a few weeks. therefore, its global environmental effects cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, Fenitrothion emulsion has the ability to accumulate in aquatic organisms and shows good stability in hard water.2
bacterial degradation has been reported as one of the strategies for the detoxification of the insecticides in green way. While many of them isolated and characterized as co-metabolically hydrolyzing organophosphorus insecticides only some species that utilize an insecticide as a sole source of carbon and energy for growth have been reported. Burkholderia sp. NF100 Strain and two plasmids- pNF1 and pNF2- which isolated from fenitrothion-treated soil show the degradation ability. 1
The NF100 strain was found to initially hydrolyze the organophosphate bond of fenitrothion, resulting in the formation of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol as an intermediate product. This compound subsequently led to the production of methylhydroquinone as the final product of the degradation process. 1
the other bacteria have been reported is Burkholderia sp. FDS-1 which isolated from the sludge of the wastewater treating system of one of organophosphorus pesticides manufacturers.
Burkholderia sp. FDS-1 is a gram-negative bacterium with a short rod shape and has the same function as sp. Strain NF100 in metabolization. Therefore, its final products are nitrite and methylhydroquinone. The report declares that there would be little effect on fenitrothion hydrolysis by adding other carbon sources and omitting the phosphorus source.3
The other reported bacteria from Burkholderia species are sp. strain YI23 which
isolated from a golf course soil and identified as a fenitrothion-degrading bacterium.
sp. strain YI23 genome consists of three chromosomes and three plasmids
And the degradative gene’s locations are on plasmids BYI23_E and BYI23_F.4
Bacillus subtilis PCI 219, isolated from pine forest soil, is another Fenitrothion degrader reported by MIYAMOTO et al.5
Other reports have mentioned that the B. stearothermophilus strain AG-49, in conjunction with silica, was used in a mineral medium for the degradation process. These reports indicated a 5% degradation within a span of four days6
Ghafari et al reports about Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain F4, Pseudomonas fluorescens strain F1 and Bacillus cereus strain F3 isolation which have collected from pistachio gardens. they present that Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain F4 has shown the best result. 2
Conclusion: Various bacteria have been investigated for the degradation of agricultural Pesticides in different environments and different soil ecosystems, and it has been shown that different species of bacteria have the ability to degrade agricultural Pesticides. Due to the widespread use of fenitrothion throughout our world We have to control its spread in soil and water environments. The research process is still needed for the proper use of this category of microorganisms in order to know more about the metabolic pathways and effective genes.
1)doi: 10.1128/aem.66.4.1737-1740.2000
2)Isolation and characterization of Fenitrothion-degrading bacteria from pestachio gardens in Kerman Provinance
Mehrnosh Ghafari 1 Mehdi Hassanshahian 2 Mohammad Mahani
3)Isolation of fenitrothion-degrading strain Burkholderia sp. FDS-1 and cloning
of mpd gene DOI 10.1007/s10532-005-7130-2
4)Complete Genome Sequence of the Fenitrothion-Degrading Burkholderia sp. Strain YI23
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.06479-11
5)Degradation of Fenitrothion by Bacteria Isolated
from Forest Soil - Yoko SATO
6)Degradation of fenitrothion byBacillus stearothermophilus adhering to silica
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02815535
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). The reconsideration of approvals of the active constituent fenitrothion, registrations of products containing fenitrothion and their associated labels 2004; 9-50.