Biologically-induced hydrolysis of parathion in soil: Isolation of hydrolyzing bacteria

Abstract

Fifty bacterial isolates from a parathion-treated soil (Gilat, Israel) were tested for their ability to hydrolyze the organophosphorus insecticide, parathion in peptone-yeast extract medium. After 5 days 33 isolates had hydrolyzed at least a portion of the added parathion. Eight of these isolates hydrolyzed 75% of the added parathion in 5 days and appeared to be Bacillus strains. Ten of these 33 isolates had hydrolyzed all of the parathion after 5 days and appeared to be Arthrohacter strains. One isolate from each group was tested further. During the logarithmic phase of growth, Bacillus sp., isolate 10, hydrolyzed less than 10% of the parathion added to peptone-yeast extract medium and was not active in parathion hydrolysis when inoculated into sterilized, parathion-treated soil. Arthrobacter sp., isolate 6, hydrolyzed parathion rapidly in peptone-yeast extract medium and in sterilized, parathion-treated soil. It used parathion or its hydrolysis product, p-nitrophenol, as sole carbon source. The parathion hydrolyzing enzyme appeared to be constitutive in isolate 6. Single applications of p-nitrophenol at concentrations greater than 1 mM inhibited growth but successive additions of smaller amounts permitted growth to continue.