Isolation of a member of Acinetobacter species involved in atrazine degradation

Contribution of Acinetobacter genus in the degradation of atrazine and its analogs is reported here. An interesting bacterial isolate capable of degrading atrazine as high as 250 ppm was isolated from a soil heavily contaminated with atrazine. The permissible level of atrazine in drinking water is 3 ppb and hence use of a strain capable of atrazine degradation as high as 250 ppm would be of immense help for rapid environmental cleanup. This isolate was found to be capable of best growth at 37 °C and at pH inclined towards the alkaline side. It was found that atrazine was utilized as a carbon and not as a nitrogen source. Acinetobacter species was also active on other triazine pesticides, viz., simazine, terbutryn, cyanazine, and prometon. There are very few reports on the degradation of atrazine by any member of this genus and hence this could lead to new degradation pathways and new metabolites.