ABSTRACT:
The extensive use of pesticides is considered to be one of the major causes of soil and water pollution in agricultural sector. As it enters the food chain, humans on the other hand are directly or indirectly victimized. In order to counteract the situation, such contaminants need to be removed from the environment through biodegradation. Pesticide degrading bacteria were isolated and identified through cultural and biochemical tests. Among them, the predominant / potential strain was grown in an enrichment medium supplemented with 25, 50, 100 and 200 ppm of Chlorpyrifos and monitored using uv-vis spectrophotometer at optical density of 600nm. The result showed that among the isolated strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the predominant and potential strain with maximum degradation of 200 ppm of chlorpyrifos in 240 h of incubation. HPTLC analysis of the residual Chlorpyrifos after 7 days of incubation showed that Ps. aeruginosa was able to degrade 80% of the pesticide. Our results indicated that the isolated bacteria can be effectively used for bioremediation of chlorpyrifos contaminated soil and water.