Faculty Publications

Fungal degradation of organophosphorous insecticides

Document Type

Article

Keywords

biodegradation, fungi, organophosphorous insecticides, Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology

Volume

39-40

Issue

1

First Page

715

Last Page

726

Abstract

Organophosphorous insecticides are used extensively in agriculture. As a group, they are easily degraded by bacteria in the environment. However, a number of them have half-lives of several months. Little is known about their biodegradation by fungi. We showed that Phanerochaete chrysosporium mineralized chlorpyrifos, fonofos, and terbufos (27.5, 12.2, and 26.6%, respectively) during an 18-d incubation in nutrient nitrogen-limited cultures. Results demonstrated that the chlorinated pyridinyl ring of chlorpyrifos and the phenyl ring of fonofos undergo cleavage during biodegradation by the fungus. The usefulness of P. chrysosporium for bioremediation is discussed. © 1993 Humana Press Inc.

Original Publication Date

9-1-1993

DOI of published version

10.1007/BF02919030

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