Isolation and biochemical characterization of malathion degrading bacteria

Author(s): Radhika Sharma*, Aakriti Saraswat, Divya Pandey, Kriti Maheshwari

Abstract

Agriculture is the major occupation of people of India, around 60-70% of its population is engaged in agriculture. Annually millions and tons of pesticides are used in fields to have healthy and quality field produce, which in turn accumulates in our ecosystem and food chain as well. The toxicity levels of these pesticides are reported in amphibians, aves, fishes and even human beings. Malathion (S-(1, 2 dicarethoxyethyl)-O, O-dimethyldithiophosphate) causes inhibition of human acetylcholinesterase leading to suffocation succeeded by death. Malathion could be degraded either chemically or biologically. Chemical degradation leads to production of malaxon which is 50 times more toxic then the parent compound. Our present study aims at biodegradation of malathion using enrichment technique. The presence of degradation was confirmed by Thin Layer Chromatography. Further, morphological and biochemical tests were performed on the isolated bacteria which indicated that they might belong to various genera.

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