Enrichment And Isolation Of Endosulfan Degrading Microorganisms In Cashew Plantations Of Kasargod District, Kerala

Organochlorine pesticides are one of the major groups of chemicals responsible for environmental contamination. Endosulfan a pesticide used mainly in cashew plantation is a highly toxic endocrine disrupter and a contact stomach poison. To study the endosulfan degrading microorganisms, 20 soil samples were collected from five different cashew plantations having a history of endosulfan applications. The bacterial strains were isolated using enrichment techniques and growth kinetic studies were conducted using different concentrations of endosulfan. The bacterial strain showed maximum growth at 100μl per 100ml of distilled water. Based on GC-MS analysis it was observed that there was no residual endosulfan in the soil, therefore complete mineralization has occurred leading to non toxic low molecular weight compounds. The strains were identified using biochemical characterization and by the 16s rDNA gene amplification. DNA sequence of the isolated strains showed 100% similarity with Pseudomonas sp 2C and Alcaligenes sp. clone XDC22.