Chlorpyrifos biodegradation and 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol production by actinobacteria isolated from soil

Chlorpyrifos (CP) is a widely used agricultural insecticide that is hazardous to both the environment and human health. Therefore, it is an essential to develop approaches to remove this compound from contaminated soils, water and sediments. In this study, actinobacteria were isolated from an agricultural soil that had received continuous applications of CP. Four strains were selected as a result of their tolerance to 50 mg L−1 of CP in agar plate and they were identified as Streptomyces sp. based on 16S rDNA. According to relationship of CP degradation and microbial growth studies, two isolates were selected and were named Streptomyces sp. strain AC5 and Streptomyces sp. strain AC7. The strains were cultivated in liquid medium with CP at concentrations of 25 mg L−1 and 50 mg L−1 for 72 h. The results indicated that both strains were able to rapidly degrade CP with about 90% degradation after 24 h of incubation. A different pattern of CP degradation was observed when its main metabolite, 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) was monitored. A maximum concentration of 0.46 mg L−1 of TCP was produced by Streptomyces sp. strain AC5 and its concentration decreased as a function of time. In contrast, TCP production by Streptomyces sp. AC7 increased over time from 1.31 mg L−1 to 4.32 mg L−1. CP degradation was associated to microbial growth of the strains, pH modification, glucose consumption and organic acids excretion in the liquid medium. This work constitutes one of the few reports of Streptomyces as CP-degraders. Given the high CP degradation observed here, the Streptomycetes strains show a good potential as CP-degrading actinobacteria.

► Degradation of chlorpyrifos by actinobacteria isolated from soil was observed.
► Chlorpyrifos was degraded after 24 h of incubation by Streptomyces sp. AC5 and AC7.
► Different amount of TCP production was observed for Streptomyces sp. AC5 and AC7.
► Glucose uptake, pH changes and release of organic acids was observed.
► This is a new report about Streptomyces species as chlorpyrifos- degrading bacteria.