Microbial Metabolism of Organophosphates: Key for Developing Smart Bioremediation Process of Next Generation

The function of microbial enzymes in breaking down soil contaminated with pesticides: a review

“…Highly persistent pesticides are less susceptible to microbiological, chemical, and photodegradation. One of the most persistent pesticides is OC insecticide, which may last in soil for up to a year [ 9 , 11 ]. Pesticide chemistry, distribution between foliage and soil, as well as environmental factors like pH, temperature, microbial activity, etc., are a few important factors that affect the processes [ 5 , 8 ].…”

“…Bacterial species discovered to be capable of pesticide degradation often belong to the genera Flavobacterium , Burkholderia , Arthrobacter , Azotobacter , and Pseudomonas [ 5 , 12 , 18 , 24 , 28 , 29 ]. Once these biotas are released to the soil, they are capable of quickly developing and they breakdown particular pesticide compounds that serve as carbon and energy source to these soil microorganisms, opening the way for the remediation of pesticide-contaminated sites [ 9 , 15 , 18 , 30 ]. Furthermore, white rot fungus, Auricularia auricula , Phanerochaete chrysosporium , and Dichomitus squalens are examples of pesticide-degrading fungi [ 5 , 26 ].…”

“…The process meanwhile supplies carbon and energy for microbial growth and reproduction [ 15 , 22 ]. Moreover, each degradation stage is mediated by a specific enzyme produced either by the degrading cell or extracellular enzymes [ 9 , 22 ]. The lack of an adequate enzyme might be the cause of pesticide persistence [ 5 ].…”

“…Some pesticide compounds have been prohibited from usage due to their toxicity. For instance, organochlorine (OC) pesticides were phased out in the 1970s due to their high environmental persistence and replaced with less persistent organophosphate (OP) compounds [ 5 , 9 ]. In recent, some OP compounds were also banned from use in Europe and the USA due to their acute neurotoxic nature.…”

“…Biological treatment used a variety of biological systems or microbial populations to bio-transform the toxic compound into a less hazardous or inert one [ 5 , 11 ]. Among the many pesticide detoxification treatment methods, bioremediation is regarded as a novel and developing method for the cleaning of pesticide-contaminated sites since it provides a sustainable pathway in detoxifying the toxic compounds in soil system [ 5 , 9 , 12 ]. Most importantly, the bioremediation approach is less energy-intensive and eliminates the contaminant without producing byproducts that can cause secondary pollution [ 5 ].…”