Fungal degradation of organophosphorous insecticides

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 thatPhanerochaete 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 ofP. chrysosporium for bioremediation is discussed.