Enhanced Carbofuran Degradation Using Immobilized and Free Cells of Enterobacter sp. Isolated from Soil

Abstract

Extensive use of carbofuran insecticide harms the environment and human health. Carbofuran is an endocrine disruptor and has the highest acute toxicity to humans than all groups of carbamate pesticides used. Carbofuran is highly mobile in soil and soluble in water with a lengthy half-life (50 days). Therefore, it has the potential to contaminate groundwater and nearby water bodies after rainfall events. A bacterial strain BRC05 was isolated from agricultural soil characterized and presumptively identified as Enterobacter sp. The strain was immobilized using gellan gum as an entrapment material. The effect of different heavy metals and the ability of the immobilized cells to degrade carbofuran were compared with their free cell counterparts. The results showed a significant increase in the degradation of carbofuran by immobilized cells compared with freely suspended cells. Carbofuran was completely degraded within 9 h by immobilized cells at 50 mg/L, while it took 12 h for free cells to degrade carbofuran at the same concentration. Besides, the immobilized cells completely degraded carbofuran within 38 h at 100 mg/L. On the other hand, free cells degraded the compound in 68 h. The viability of the freely suspended cell and degradation efficiency was inhibited at a concentration greater than 100 mg/L. Whereas, the immobilized cells almost completely degraded carbofuran at 100 mg/L. At 250 mg/L concentration, the rate of degradation decreased significantly in free cells. The immobilized cells could also be reused for about nine cycles without losing their degradation activity. Hence, the gellan gum-immobilized cells of Enterobacter sp. could be potentially used in the bioremediation of carbofuran in contaminated soil.

Organochlorine Pesticides Negatively Influenced the Cellular Growth, Morphostructure, Cell Viability, and Biofilm-Formation and Phosphate-Solubilization Activities of Enterobacter cloacae Strain EAM 35

“…cloacae isolated in this study and reported elsewhere in other studies. Other workers have also recovered the different species of Enterobacter from various soil habitats and characterized them by 16S rRNA partial gene sequence analysis and other state-of-the-art tools. − …”

Biodegradation and Utilization of the Pesticides Glyphosate and Carbofuran by Two Yeast Strains

“…The wide application, accompanied by the high toxicity of carbofuran, provokes the search for an effective and affordable way to remove it from the environment [54][55][56]. Glyphosate is also the subject of increased interest in terms of accumulating data on the harmful effects it causes on human and animal health [57].…”

Co-Treatment of Copper Oxide Nanoparticle and Carbofuran Enhances Cardiotoxicity in Zebrafish Embryos

“…Up until this study was done, no detailed study has done previously to unveil the molecular interaction between copper nanoparticle and carbofuran. However, previous study by Mustapha et al show that copper can inhibit the degradation of carbofuran, which related to the effect of copper in inhibiting hydrolysis enzyme [ 69 , 70 , 71 ]. This effect might make the carbofuran present longer in the body and potentially cause more damage.…”