Biodegradation of atrazine by Rhodococcus sp. BCH2 to N-isopropylammelide with subsequent assessment of toxicity of biodegraded metabolites

Atrazine is a persistent organic pollutant in the environment which affects not only terrestrial and aquatic biota but also human health. Since its removal from the environment is needed, atrazine biodegradation is achieved in the present study using the bacterium Rhodococcus sp. BCH2 isolated from soil, long-term treated with atrazine. The bacterium was capable of degrading about 75 % atrazine in liquid medium having pH 7 under aerobic and dark condition within 7 days. The degradation ability of the bacterium at various temperatures (20–60 °C), pH (range 3–11), carbon (glucose, fructose, sucrose, starch, lactose, and maltose), and nitrogen (ammonium molybdate, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, and urea) sources were studied for triumph optimum atrazine degradation. The results indicate that atrazine degradation at higher concentrations (100 ppm) was pH and temperature dependent. However, glucose and potassium nitrate were optimum carbon and nitrogen source, respectively. Atrazine biodegradation analysis was carried out by using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight (LC/Q-TOF-MS) techniques. LC/Q-TOF-MS analysis revealed formation of various intermediate metabolites including hydroxyatrazine, N-isopropylammelide, deisopropylhydroxyatrazine, deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine, and deisopropyldeethylatrazine which was helpful to propose biochemical degradation pathway of atrazine. Furthermore, the toxicological studies of atrazine and its biodegraded metabolites were executed on earthworm Eisenia foetida as a model organism with respect to enzymatic (SOD and Catalase) antioxidant defense mechanism and lipid peroxidation studies. These results suggest innocuous degradation of atrazine by Rhodococcus sp. BCH2 in nontoxic form. Therefore the Rhodococcus sp.BCH2 could prove a valuable source for the eco-friendly biodegradation of atrazine pesticide.