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Biodegradation of malathion by Bacillus licheniformis strain ML-1

Khan Sara (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Abbottabad, Pakistan)
Zaffar Habiba (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Abbottabad, Pakistan)
Irshad Usman (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Abbottabad, Pakistan)
Ahmad Raza (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Abbottabad, Pakistan)
Khan Abdul Rehman (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Abbottabad, Pakistan)
Shah Mohammad Maroof (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Abbottabad, Pakistan)
Bilal Muhammad (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Abbottabad, Pakistan)
Iqbal Mazhar (Quaid-i-Azam University, Department of Environmental Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan)
Naqvi Tatheer (COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Abbottabad, Pakistan)

Malathion, a well-known organophosphate pesticide, has been used in agriculture over the last two decades for controlling pests of economically important crops. In the present study, a single bacterium, ML-1, was isolated by soil-enrichment technique and identified as Bacillus licheniformis on the basis of the 16S rRNA technique. The bacterium was grown in carbon-free minimal salt medium (MSM) and was found to be very efficient in utilizing malathion as the sole source of carbon. Biodegradation experiments were performed in MSM without carbon source to determine the malathion degradation by the selected strain, and the residues of malathion were determined quantitatively using HPLC techniques. Bacillus licheniformis showed very promising results and efficiently consumed malathion as the sole carbon source via malathion carboxylesterase (MCE), and about 78% malathion was degraded within 5 days. The carboxylesterase activity was determined by using crude extract while using malathion as substrate, and the residues were determined by HPLC. It has been found that the MCE hydrolyzed 87% malathion within 96 h of incubation. Characterization of crude MCE revealed that the enzyme is robust in nature in terms of organic solvents, as it was found to be stable in various concentrations of ethanol and acetonitrile. Similarly, and it can work in a wide pH and temperature range. The results of this study highlighted the potential of Bacillus licheniformis strain ML-1 as a biodegrader that can be used for the bioremediation of malathion-contaminated soil.

Keywords: biodegradation, malathion, Bacillus licheniformis, carboxylesterase, organophosphorus pesticides