Abstract
Pyrethroids are broad-spectrum insecticides and presence of chiral carbon differentiates among various forms of pyrethroids. Microbial approaches have emerged as a popular solution to counter pyrethroid toxicity to marine life and mammals. Bacterial and fungal strains can effectively degrade pyrethroids into non-toxic compounds. Different strains of bacteria and fungi such as Bacillus spp., Raoultella ornithinolytica, Psudomonas flourescens, Brevibacterium sp., Acinetobactor sp., Aspergillus sp., Candida sp., Trichoderma sp., and Candia spp., are used for the biodegradation of pyrethroids. Hydrolysis of ester bond by enzyme esterase/carboxyl esterase is the initial step in pyrethroid biodegradation. Esterase is found in bacteria, fungi, insect and mammalian liver microsome cells that indicates its hydrolysis ability in living cells. Biodegradation pattern and detected metabolites reveal microbial consumption of pyrethroids as carbon and nitrogen source. In this review, we aim to explore pyrethroid degrading strains, enzymes and metabolites produced by microbial strains. This review paper covers in-depth knowledge of pyrethroids and recommends possible solutions to minimize their environmental toxicity.
Highlights
Pyrethroids are the most commonly used global pesticides
Pyrethroid degrading esterase and 3-phenoxybenzaldehyde can be used as signature molecule for pyrethroid biodegradation. Based on this potential marker, pyrethroids degrading microorganism can be selected in a shorter period
Molecular chronometer based coverage of esterase enzyme is possible with existing data
Summary
Pyrethroids are the most commonly used global pesticides. Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium flowers are the natural source of pyrethroids and allethrin was developed as the first synthetic pyrethroid insecticide in 1949 (Ensley, 2018; Gammon et al, 2019; Xu et al, 2019). Esterase enzymes are often studied for pyrethroid degradation, due to their presence in bacteria, fungi, insect, and human tissues (Liu et al, 2017; Wang et al, 2018; Bai et al, 2019). Toxicity studies have revealed several effects of pyrethroids on human and marine life (Table 2). Cyfluthrin studies on a medium pile of nylon carpet suggested that pyrethroids were absorbed in the surrounding surfaces and were found in human urine samples (Williams et al, 2003; Sullivan et al, 2019). Presence of 4-fluro-3 phenoxybenzoic acid in urine samples indicated human exposure to pyrethroids and environmental measurements further confirmed the results (Williams et al, 2003). Deltamethrin, β-cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, permethrin, bifenthrin, esfenvalerate, λ-cyhalothrin, tefluthrin, fenpropathrin, resmethrin, and S-bioallethrin
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