1PG Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The American College, Madurai, India
2PG and Research Department of Zoology, The American College, Madurai, India
World Journal of Environmental Engineering.
2013,
Vol. 1 No. 2, 21-26
DOI: 10.12691/wjee-1-2-2
Copyright © 2013 Science and Education PublishingCite this paper: A. Deborah Gnana Selvam, A. J. Thatheyus, R. Vidhya. Biodegradation of the Synthetic Pyrethroid, Fenvalerate by
Bacillus Cereus Mtcc 1305.
World Journal of Environmental Engineering. 2013; 1(2):21-26. doi: 10.12691/wjee-1-2-2.
Correspondence to: A. J. Thatheyus, PG and Research Department of Zoology, The American College, Madurai, India. Email:
jthatheyus@yahoo.co.inAbstract
Extensive applications of synthetic pyrethroids not only result in pest resistance to these insecticides, but also may lead to environmental issues and human exposure. The pyrethroid fenvalerate pesticide residues on foods and environmental contamination are a public safety concern. Therefore, the present study investigated the potential of the chosen bacterium, Bacillus cereus MTCC 1305 in the degradation of various concentrations of fenvalerate (250, 500, 750 and 1000ppm). The degradation efficiency of the bacterium was tested by the assessment of pH, free carbon dioxide, turbidity and esterase activity. HPLC analysis for 500ppm of fenvalerate degradation by the bacterium at the end of long term and short term treatments showed peaks with different retention times. The degradation was found to be maximum for 500ppm of fenvalerate. These findings suggest that the utilization of fenvalerate by P .viridiflava may be a feasible treatment option for the removal of pesticides from soil environment.
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