Breakdown of Dieldrin in the Soil by a Micro-organism

SEVERAL soil micro-organisms isolated from soil contaminated with pesticides have been reported to be active in the degradation of dieldrin—one of the most stable and hazardous insecticidal contaminants in the environment 1 . The part played by these microorganisms in detoxifying this insecticide, however, could not be determined, because none of the metabolites was identified to indicate the levels of toxicity to various biological systems. We have now isolated and chemically identified the chief products of degradation involved with one of the micro-organisms.