Biodegradation of the acetanilide herbicides alachlor, metolachlor, and propachlor

Simultaneous toxic action of zinc and alachlor resulted in enhancement of zinc uptake by the filamentous fungus Paecilomyces marquandii

Microbial ability vary when pollutants exist together in the environment in comparison to the presence of single toxic compound. The influence of alachlor and zinc on the growth of the filamentous fungus Paecilomyces marquandii and its ability to eliminate alachlor and zinc has been studied. Their simultaneous presence in the polluted environment is very probable. In liquid cultures the pesticide (50 mg/l) was removed with the efficiency of 85% within 7 days. Beginning from the third day of culturing two derivatives of alachlor were found: N-(2',6'-diethylphenyl)-N-metoxymethyl-acetamide and unstable 2-chloro-N-(2',6'-diethylphenyl)-N-hydroxymethyl-acetamide, the first time detected as product of alachlor metabolisation by filamentous fungus. The herbicide elimination was not inhibited by zinc up to 1.0 mM of the metal content in the culture medium, 5.0-7.5 mM of the metal limited alachlor depletion by 30-50%, whereas a higher zinc concentration stopped this process. Zinc content in P. marquandii mycelium during the incubation in growth medium reached 10-20 mg/g of dry weight and was increased up to 99 mg/g by alachlor, however due to its presence a strong inhibitory effect on growth was observed. It was postulated that the increase in zinc binding by the growing mycelium of P. marquandii in the presence of the pesticide was connected with the changes in the wall and membrane composition induced by simultaneous toxic interaction of zinc and alachlor. Only 15-20% of bound zinc was detected in the cell wall of the fungus, whereas the amount of zinc loaded in the wall of mycelium originating from the cultures incubated in the alachlor presence increased to 60%. Additionally, changes in the profile of fatty acids of cultures with pesticide and metal addition were observed. P. marquandii strain seems to be promising for a potential industrial application. It can both effectively bind zinc and remove alachlor from the mixture of pollutants.

Degradation of acetochlor by four microbial communities

Four microbial communities capable of degrading acetochlor, designated A, D, E, and J, were obtained from acetochlor-contaminated soil and sludge. Acetochlor at an initial concentration of 55mg/L was completely degraded by the four mixed cultures after 4 days. At 80 mg/L acetochlor, more than 99% degradation was observed with D, 84% with A and E, and 88% with J after 9 days. There are primary eight strains of bacteria in community A, three in community D, E, and J, respectively. No single isolate was able to degrade acetochlor efficiently. The acetochlor biodegradation products were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The probable degradative pathways of acetochlor involved dechlorination, hydroxylation, deethoxymethylation, cyclization, carboxylation, and decarboxylation. Propachlor, alachlor, and metolachlor, which are also the main components of the chloroacetanilide herbicide, could be degraded by the four mixed cultures to some degree. Given the high degradation rates observed here, the four mixed cultures obtained may be useful in the degradation processes of acetochlor.

Field-scale variation in microbial activity and soil properties in relation to mineralization and sorption of pesticides in a sandy soil

Pesticides applied to agricultural soils are subject to environmental concerns because leaching to groundwater reservoirs and aquatic habitats may occur. Knowledge of field variation of pesticide-related parameters is required to evaluate the vulnerability of pesticide leaching. The mineralization and sorption of the pesticides glyphosate and metribuzin and the pesticide degradation product triazinamin in a field were measured and compared with the field-scale variation of geochemical and microbiological parameters. We focused on the soil parameters clay and organic carbon (C) content and on soil respiratory and enzymatic processes and microbial biomass. These parameters were measured in soil samples taken at two depths (Ap and Bs horizon) in 51 sampling points from a 4-ha agricultural fine sandy soil field. The results indicated that the spatial variation of the soil parameters, and in particular the content of organic C, had a major influence on the variability of the microbial parameters and on sorption and pesticide mineralization in the soil. For glyphosate, with a co-metabolic pathway for degradation, the mineralization was increased in soils with high microbial activity. The spatial variability, expressed as the CV, was about five times higher in the Bs horizon than in the Ap horizon, and the local-scale variation within 100 m(2) areas were two to three times lower than the field-scale variation within the entire field of about 4 ha.

Fate and transport of pesticides in the ground water systems of southwest Georgia, 1993-2005

Modern agricultural practices in the United States have resulted in nearly unrivaled efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, there is also the potential for release of these compounds to the environment and consequent adverse affects on wildlife and human populations. Since 1993, the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program of the U.S. Geological Survey has evaluated water quality in agricultural areas to address these concerns. The objective of this study is to evaluate trends in pesticide concentrations from 1993-2005 in the surficial and Upper Floridan aquifers of southwest Georgia using pesticide and pesticide degradate data collected for the NAWQA program. There were six compounds-five herbicides and one degradate-that were detected in more than 20% of samples: atrazine, deethylatrazine (DEA), metolachlor, alachlor, floumeturon, and tebuthiuron. Of the 128 wells sampled during the study, only eight wells had pesticide concentrations that either increased (7) or decreased (1) on a decadal time scale. Most of the significant trends were increasing concentrations of pesticides in older water; median pesticide concentrations did not differ between the surficial and Upper Floridan aquifers from 1993 and 2005. Deethylatrazine, in the Upper Floridan aquifer, was the only compound that had a significant change (increase) in concentration during the study. The limited number of wells with increases in pesticide concentrations suggest that ground-water sources of these compounds are not increasing in concentration over the time scale represented in this study.

Occurrence and fate of pesticides in four contrasting agricultural settings in the United States

Occurrence and fate of 45 pesticides and 40 pesticide degradates were investigated in four contrasting agricultural settings--in Maryland, Nebraska, California, and Washington. Primary crops included corn at all sites, soybeans in Maryland, orchards in California and Washington, and vineyards in Washington. Pesticides and pesticide degradates detected in water samples from all four areas were predominantly from two classes of herbicides--triazines and chloroacetanilides; insecticides and fungicides were not present in the shallow ground water. In most samples, pesticide degradates greatly exceeded the concentrations of parent pesticide. In samples from Nebraska, the parent pesticide atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine] was about the same concentration as the degradate, but in samples from Maryland and California atrazine concentrations were substantially smaller than its degradate. Simazine [6-chloro-N,N'-diethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], the second most detected triazine, was detected in ground water from Maryland, California, and Washington. Metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide] rarely was detected without its degradates, and when they were detected in the same sample metolachlor always had smaller concentrations. The Root-Zone Water-Quality Model was used to examine the occurrence and fate of metolachlor at the Maryland site. Simulations accurately predicted which metolachlor degradate would be predominant in the unsaturated zone. In analyses of relations among redox indicators and pesticide variance, apparent age, concentrations of dissolved oxygen, and excess nitrogen gas (from denitrification) were important indicators of the presence and concentration of pesticides in these ground water systems.

Pesticide fate and transport throughout unsaturated zones in five agricultural settings, USA

Pesticide transport through the unsaturated zone is a function of chemical and soil characteristics, application, and water recharge rate. The fate and transport of 82 pesticides and degradates were investigated at five different agricultural sites. Atrazine and metolachlor, as well as several of the degradates of atrazine, metolachlor, acetochlor, and alachlor, were frequently detected in soil water during the 2004 growing season, and degradates were generally more abundant than parent compounds. Metolachlor and atrazine were applied at a Nebraska site the same year as sampling, and focused recharge coupled with the short time since application resulted in their movement in the unsaturated zone 9 m below the surface. At other sites where the herbicides were applied 1 to 2 yr before sampling, only degradates were found in soil water. Transformations of herbicides were evident with depth and during the 4-mo sampling time and reflected the faster degradation of metolachlor oxanilic acid and persistence of metolachor ethanesulfonic acid. The fraction of metolachlor ethanesulfonic acid relative to metolachlor and metolachlor oxanilic acid increased from 0.3 to >0.9 at a site in Maryland where the unsaturated zone was 5 m deep and from 0.3 to 0.5 at the shallowest depth. The flux of pesticide degradates from the deepest sites to the shallow ground water was greatest (3.0-4.9 micromol m(-2) yr(-1)) where upland recharge or focused flow moved the most water through the unsaturated zone. Flux estimates based on estimated recharge rates and measured concentrations were in agreement with fluxes estimated using an unsaturated-zone computer model (LEACHM).

Acetochlor mineralization and fate of its two major metabolites in two soils under laboratory conditions

The degradation of the herbicide acetochlor, in a neoluvisol and in a calcosol were studied as a function of depth (0-25cm and 25-50cm) and temperature (25 degrees C and 15 degrees C) under controlled laboratory conditions during 58 and 90 days, respectively. The surface and sub-surface soil samples were respectively spiked with 1 and 0.01mgkg(-1) of 14C-acetochlor, the concentrations observed in previous field monitoring. The half-lives (DT50) varied from 1.4 to 14.9 days depending on the soil, temperature and applied concentration. The maximal mineralization (24%) was observed for the surface calcosol at 25 degrees C. The comparison of results obtained for sterilized and non-sterilized soils, the decrease of DT50 with the increase of temperature, the shape of CO2 emissions and the increase of number of aerobic endogenous microflora through the experiment suggested that biological process are dominant in degradation. A particular attention was paid to the formation and dissipation of metabolites ESA (ethanesulphonic acid) and OA (oxanilic acid) during the whole experiment. At 25 degrees C, ESA and OA were observed after three days, but as ESA concentration decreased over time in surface calcosol, it remained constant in surface neoluvisol. A difference in ESA/OA ratio depends on the soil with a predominance of OA in surface neoluvisol and a disappearance of OA in surface calcosol.

Linking ground-water age and chemistry data along flow paths: implications for trends and transformations of nitrate and pesticides

Tracer-based ground-water ages, along with the concentrations of pesticides, nitrogen species, and other redox-active constituents, were used to evaluate the trends and transformations of agricultural chemicals along flow paths in diverse hydrogeologic settings. A range of conditions affecting the transformation of nitrate and pesticides (e.g., thickness of unsaturated zone, redox conditions) was examined at study sites in Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and California. Deethylatrazine (DEA), a transformation product of atrazine, was typically present at concentrations higher than those of atrazine at study sites with thick unsaturated zones but not at sites with thin unsaturated zones. Furthermore, the fraction of atrazine plus DEA that was present as DEA did not increase as a function of ground-water age. These findings suggest that atrazine degradation occurs primarily in the unsaturated zone with little or no degradation in the saturated zone. Similar observations were also made for metolachlor and alachlor. The fraction of the initial nitrate concentration found as excess N2 (N2 derived from denitrification) increased with ground-water age only at the North Carolina site, where oxic conditions were generally limited to the top 5 m of saturated thickness. Historical trends in fluxes to ground water were evaluated by relating the times of recharge of ground-water samples, estimated using chlorofluorocarbon concentrations, with concentrations of the parent compound at the time of recharge, estimated by summing the molar concentrations of the parent compound and its transformation products in the age-dated sample. Using this approach, nitrate concentrations were estimated to have increased markedly from 1960 to the present at all study sites. Trends in concentrations of atrazine, metolachlor, alachlor, and their degradates were related to the timing of introduction and use of these compounds. Degradates, and to a lesser extent parent compounds, were detected in ground water dating back to the time these compounds were introduced.

Isolation and Characterization of a Pseudomonas Oleovorans Degrading the Chloroacetamide Herbicide Acetochlor

To date, no pure bacterial cultures that could degrade acetochlor have been described. In this study, one strain of microorganism capable of degrading acetochlor, designated as LCa2, was isolated from acetochlor-contaminated soil. The strain LCa2 is Pseudomonas oleovorans according to the criteria of Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology and sequence analysis of the partial 16S rRNA gene. Optimum growth temperature and pH were 35 degrees C and 8.0, respectively. The strain could degrade 98.03% of acetochlor treated at a concentration of 7.6 mg l(-1) after 7 days of incubation and could tolerate 200 mg l(-1) of acetochlor. When the acetochlor concentration became higher, the degradation cycle became longer. The acetochlor biodegradation products were identified by GC-MS based on mass spectral data and fragmentation patterns. The main plausible degradative pathways involved dechlorination, hydroxylation, N-dealkylation, C-dealkylation and dehydrogenation.

Behavior of pesticides in water-sediment systems

Many experimental reports on the fate of pesticides in either laboratory or outdoor water-sediment systems have been obtained from both research and regulatory aspects that show some trends in distribution and degradation for each chemical class of pesticides. Adsorption, diffusion, hydrolysis, and biodegradation processes are important in controlling the behavior of pesticides in these water-sediment systems. Through these investigations, the contribution of suspended particles and dissolved organic matter has become more accepted in relation to these processes. Not only the physicochemical properties and degradability of a pesticide but also the characteristics of the many phases composing a water-sediment system determine the actual pesticide behavior, and therefore we should appropriately design an experimental system by considering the real situation of the natural aqueous environment to be examined. Many factors controlling experimental results in a laboratory system such as water-sediment ratio, depth of water and sediment phases, and mixing of water column have been clarified; however, there are still many issues to be examined. For example, a pesticide is always used as a formulation, but its effects on pesticide behavior in a water-sediment system have not been extensively examined. When its behavior in a natural aquatic system is considered, the effect and importance of photolysis are necessary to examine as an individual degradation process, but photolysis has been only briefly discussed in outdoor microcosm and mesocosm studies. Many studies discuss the distribution and degradation pathways of a pesticide, but its transport between water and sediment phases has scarcely been investigated because of its complexity, especially for a pesticide that is moderately or easily degraded in a water-sediment system. This form of investigation would be very useful when metabolites or degradates having more toxicological impact on aquatic species and sediment dwellers are found. From this point of view, the behavior of a pesticide and its metabolite(s) in an interstitial sediment porewater should become another critical point to be examined in the future. Other issues to be investigated further are the relevant processes in the neighborhood of interfaces. In an air-water interface, the effect of a surface microlayer has been examined mainly through microcosm and mesocosm studies, but the contribution of interfaces to either volatilization or photodegradation should be examined in more detail to precisely estimate dissipation profiles of a pesticide in the real aquatic environment. Furthermore, the enrichment of a pesticide in this interface should be investigated in relation to an emergence of chironomids. Recently, many kinetic approaches have been attempted to more effectively use experimental data in prediction of the fate of a pesticide by the aid of a simulation model. Most existing rate data usually represent apparent dissipation rates but not degradation rates, and therefore separation of the degradation rate from dissipation by considering adsorption-desorption and transport processes would be of immense value.

Degradation of alachlor in natural and sludge-amended soils, studied by gas and liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS and HPLC-MS)

Alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)acetamide] is an herbicide used worldwide. The relative rates of disappearance of alachlor, the formation kinetics of alachlor ethane sulfonic acid (ESA), and the formation of other degradation products in two different soils (a soil with natural organic matter and a sludge-amended soil) has been studied. For such a purpose, soil samples were spiked with alachlor at 2.5 mg kg(-1), concentration generally applied in agricultural soils, and were submitted to sunlight, simulating natural field conditions. Extracts were analyzed by GC-MS and HPLC-MS in scan mode. A good correlation was observed between both techniques, and HPLC-MS allowed the determination of two eluting peaks corresponding to the two stereoisomeric forms of alachlor ESA. Degradation of alachlor in the two soils followed first-order kinetics. Half-life in the natural soil was 4.2 +/- 0.1 days, and half-life in the sludge-amended soil was 5.8 +/- 0.8 days. The higher half-life observed in the sludge-amended soil was attributed to the higher sorption of alachlor to this soil compared to the natural soil. The degradation of alachlor in both soils gave rise to the production of alachlor ESA. Its concentration increased during the incubation period, and after 27 days, its concentration was about 0.59 mg kg(-1) in the natural soil and 0.37 mg kg(-1) in the sludge-amended soil. The other two alachlor transformation products were identified using GC-MS, and the abundance of these degradation products increased while alachlor was degraded.

Are neutral chloroacetamide herbicide degradates of potential environmental concern? Analysis and occurrence in the upper Chesapeake Bay

Although laboratory studies have revealed that many different neutral degradates of chloroacetamide herbicides can form during thermochemical, biological, and photochemical transformations, relatively few have been sought in the environment, despite their likely generation in appreciable amounts, relative persistence, and known or potential toxicity. The present paper describes a GC/ MS method for the analysis of 20 neutral chloroacetamide degradates, along with the four parent compounds, three triazine herbicides, and two neutral triazine degradates. Using large volume injections and 300:1 concentration via solid phase extraction, detection limits for most neutral chloroacetamide degradates were in the hundreds of pg/L range (low ng/L range for degradates possessing a hydroxy group). In a depth profile taken in midsummer from the upper Chesapeake Bay, 19 of the 20 neutral chloroacetamide degradates of interest were detected, along with three ionic oxanilic acid derivatives. Of those degradates encountered, eight do not appear to have been previously reported in natural or affected environmental samples. Concentrations of most neutral chloroacetamide degradates exceeded those of the parent compounds, while the total concentration of the neutral chloroacetamide degradates was 20-30 times that of the parents. These micropollutants therefore merit more detailed attention as contaminants of potential environmental concern.

Dissipation of acetochlor and its distribution in surface and sub-surface soil fractions during laboratory incubations

Pesticides in soil are subject to a number of processes that result in transformation and biodegradation, sorption to and desorption from soil components, and diffusion and leaching. Pesticides leaching through a soil profile will be exposed to changing environmental conditions as different horizons with distinct physical, chemical and biological properties are encountered. The many ways in which soil properties influence pesticide retention and degradation need to be addressed to allow accurate predictions of environmental fate and the potential for groundwater pollution. Degradation and sorption processes were investigated in a long-term (100 days) study of the chloroacetanilide herbicide, acetochlor. Soil cores were collected from a clay soil profile and samples taken from 0-30 cm (surface), 1.0-1.3 m (mid) and 2.7-3.0 m (deep) and treated with acetochlor (2.5, 1.25, 0.67 microg acetochlor g(-1) dry wt soil, respectively). In sterile and non-sterile conditions, acetochlor concentration in the aqueous phase declined rapidly from the surface and subsoil layers, predominantly through nonextractable residue (NER) formation on soil surfaces, but also through biodegradation and biotic transformation. Abiotic transformation was also evident in the sterile soils. Several metabolites were produced, including acetochlor-ethane sulphonic acid and acetochlor-oxanilic acid. Transformation was principally microbial in origin, as shown by the differences between non-sterile and sterile soils. NER formation increased rapidly over the first 21 days in all soils and was mainly associated with the macroaggregate (>2000 microm diameter) size fractions. It is likely that acetochlor is incorporated into the macroaggregates through oxidative coupling, as humification of particulate organic matter progresses. The dissipation (ie total loss of acetochlor) half-life values were 9.3 (surface), 12.3 (mid) and 12.6 days (deep) in the non-sterile soils, compared with 20.9 [surface], 23.5 [mid], and 24 days [deep] in the sterile soils, demonstrating the importance of microbially driven processes in the rapid dissipation of acetochlor in soil.

Isolation and characterization of alachlor-degrading actinomycetes from soil

Alachlor (2-cloro-N-(methoxymethyl)-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-acetamide) is an extremely toxic and highly mobile herbicide that is widely used for pre-emergence control of grasses and weeds in many commercial crops in Brazil. In order to select soil actinomycetes able to degrade this herbicide, fifty-three actinomycete strains were isolated from soil treated with alachlor using selective conditions and subjected to in vitro degradation assays. Sixteen isolates were shown to be tolerant to high concentrations of the herbicide (up to 720 mg L(-1)), and six of these were able to grow and degrade >/= 50 alachlor (72 mg L(-1)) in mineral salts medium. Morphological and phylogenetic analysis enabled the assignment of the alachlor-degrading strains to the genus Streptomyces. Strain LS151 was related to the type strains of Streptomyces capoamus/Streptomyces galbus, whereas strains LS143 and LS153 were related to Streptomyces bikiniensis. The remaining strains, LS166, LS177 and LS182, were similar in morphological features and recovered in a single cluster based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis, but shown to be distinct on the basis of genomic fingerprint data (rep-PCR). Though a definitive taxonomic assignment of alachlor-degrading strains was not possible, these data indicate that ability to degrade this pesticide was detected in different Streptomyces taxa.

Transformation of herbicide propachlor by an agrochemical thiourea

Propachlor and other chloroacetanilide herbicides are frequently detected contaminants of groundwater and surface water in agricultural regions. The purpose of this work was to develop a new approach to remove propachlor residues from the environment via chemical remediation by the nitrification inhibitor thiourea. The transformation processes of propachlor and thiourea mixed in aqueous solution, sand, and soil were elucidated. Analysis of transformation products and reaction kinetics indicated that an S(N)2 nucleophilic substitution reaction occurred, in which the chlorine of propachlor was replaced by thiourea, detoxifying the herbicide. It appears that propachlor undergoes a catalytic reaction in sand or soil amended with thiourea, which results in a significantly accelerated transformation rate as compared to the reaction in aqueous solution. The second-order reaction process was examined at different temperatures to investigate the role of the activation energy. The enthalpy of activation (deltaH) for the reaction of propachlor with thiourea was demonstrated to be significantly lower in sand than in aqueous solution, which provides evidence that a catalytic transformation mechanism occurs in thiourea-amended sand. The chemical reaction rate increased proportionally to the amount of thiourea added to the sand. Column experiments further suggested that the remediation strategy could be used to remove propachlor residues from sand or soil to reduce leaching and prevent contamination of surface water and groundwater.

Degradates provide insight to spatial and temporal trends of herbicides in ground water

Since 1995, a network of municipal wells in Iowa, representing all major aquifer types (alluvial, bedrock/karst region, glacial drift, bedrock/nonkarst region), has been repeatedly sampled for a broad suite of herbicide compounds yielding one of the most comprehensive statewide databases of such compounds currently available in the United States. This dataset is ideal for documenting the insight that herbicide degradates provide to the spatial and temporal distribution of herbicides in ground water. During 2001, 86 municipal wells in Iowa were sampled and analyzed for 21 herbicide parent compounds and 24 herbicide degradates. The frequency of detection increased from 17% when only herbicide parent compounds were considered to 53% when both herbicide parents and degradates were considered. Thus, the transport of herbicide compounds to ground water is substantially underestimated when herbicide degradates are not considered. A significant difference in the results among the major aquifer types was apparent only when both herbicide parent compounds and their degradates were considered. In addition, including herbicide degradates greatly improved the statistical relation to the age of the water being sampled. When herbicide parent compounds are considered, only 40% of the wells lacking a herbicide detection could be explained by the age of the water predating herbicide use. However, when herbicide degradates were also considered, 80% of the ground water samples lacking a detection could be explained by the age of the water predating herbicide use. Finally, a temporal pattern in alachlor concentrations in ground water could only be identified when alachlor degradates were considered.

Nutrient level, microbial activity, and alachlor transformation in aerobic aquatic systems

Alachlor (2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)acetamide) is a moderately toxic herbicide that is frequently found in agriculturally impacted surface waters. To assess primary mechanism(s) that affect its fate in aquatic systems, two field experiments were performed using large mesocosms (n=39) and smaller microcosms with and without microbial inhibitors (n=16). The mesocosm experiment tested the effect of fertility conditions on alachlor fate, assessing alachlor disappearance over time under oligotrophic (total phosphorus (TP) <12 microg/L) through hypereutrophic (TP>80 microg/L) water conditions. Whereas, the microcosm experiment assessed alachlor fate in the presence of microbial inhibitors that selectively blocked eubacterial (chloroamphenicol, streptomycin, and penicillin combined), eukaryotic (cycloheximide), and universal (all inhibitors) microbial activity. First-order alachlor transformation rate coefficients ranged from 0.006 to 0.042 day(-1) when microbial inhibitors were not present (half-lives from 16 to 122 days) with the highest rates occurring in hypereutrophic waters. Statistics indicated that mean TP, and universal and eubacterial small sub-unit rRNA level most closely correlated with transformation rate. Further, the inhibitor study indicated that alachlor transformation was biotic (>90%), but that high transformation rates only occurred when eubacterial and eukaryotic domains were both metabolically active. Our results confirm that alachlor transformation is primarily biotic; however, efficient biotransformation only occurs when both major microbial domains in aerobic systems are active.

Nucleophilic aliphatic substitution reactions of propachlor, alachlor, and metolachlor with bisulfide (HS-) and polysulfides (Sn2-)

Reactions of bisulfide and polysulfides with alachlor, propachlor, and metolachlor were examined in aqueous solution to investigate the role reduced sulfur species could play in effecting abiotic transformations of chloroacetanilide herbicides. Experiments at 25 degrees C demonstrated that reactions were approximately first-order in HS- concentration and revealed that polysulfides are considerably more reactive than HS-. delta H not equal to values for reactions of the three chloroacetanilides with HS- are statistically indistinguishable at the 95% confidence level, as are delta S not equal to values, despite significant differences in second-order rate constants (kHS-). Transformation products were characterized by GC/MS (in some cases following methylation) and were found to be consistent with substitution of chlorine by the sulfur nucleophile. Products containing multiple sulfur atoms were observed for the reactions of chloroacetanilides with polysulfides, while products resulting from reaction with HS- only possessed a single sulfur atom. When second-order rate constants at 25 degrees C are multiplied by HS- and polysulfide concentrations reported in salt marsh porewaters, predicted half-lives range from minutes to hours. HS- and especially polysulfides could thus exert a substantial influence on the fate of chloroacetanilide herbicides in aquatic environments. Oxidation of the resulting sulfur-substituted products could generate ethane sulfonic acid derivatives, previously reported as prevalent chloroacetanilide degradates.

Analytical method for the determination of metolachlor, acetochlor, alachlor, dimethenamid, and their corresponding ethanesulfonic and oxanillic acid degradates in water using SPE and LC/ESI-MS/MS

A Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) validated, multiresidue analytical method is presented for the determination of the chloroacetanilide herbicides metolachlor, acetochlor, and alachlor, the chloroacetamide herbicide dimethenamid, and their respective ethanesulfonic (ESA) and oxanillic (OA) acid degradates in ground and surface water. A 50-mL water sample is subjected to purification using a C-18 SPE column. The four parent components and their eight ESA and OA degradates are isolated using 80/20 methanol/water (v/v) for elution. The eluate is reduced to < 1.0 mL and reconstituted in 10/90 acetonitrile/water (v/v) to the desired final fraction volume. Final analysis is accomplished using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry in the + (parent compounds) and - (ESA and OA degradates) ion modes by monitoring appropriate precursor/product ion pairs for each of the 12 analytes. The method limit of quantification is 0.10 ppb and the limit of detection is 0.125 ng injected for each analyte. Average procedural recovery data range from 95 to 105% for fortification levels of 0.10-100 ppb. The method validation study was performed following GLP guidelines.

Dissipation of the herbicide [14C]dimethenamid under anaerobic conditions in flooded soil microcosms

The objective of this research was to investigate the dissipation of the herbicide dimethenamid under anaerobic redox conditions that may develop in the soil environment. Soil-water biometers were prepared with a saturated soil and made anaerobic by either glucose pretreatment (according to the Environmental Protection Agency registration study for anaerobic fate) or N2 sparging. Treatments included glucose pretreatment, NO3- + SO42- amendment, unamended, and autoclaved. Volatile, aqueous, extractable, and bound (unextractable) 14C-residues were quantified and characterized. The redox potential decreased over time, and evidence of denitrifying, iron-reducing, sulfate-reducing, and methanogenic conditions was observed, depending on the amendments. Anaerobic degradation of 14C-dimethenamid occurred in all treatments, and the time observed for 50% disappearance (DT50) was 13-14 days for nonautoclaved treatments. 14C-metabolites accumulated to up to 20% of applied 14C. At least two major metabolites were observed in nonautoclaved treatments, whereas only one was observed in autoclaved microcosms. More than 50% of the applied 14C was eventually incorporated into soil-bound residue.

Occurence of cyanazine compounds in groundwater: degradates more prevalent than the parent compound

A recently developed analytical method using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to investigate the occurrence of cyanazine and its degradates cyanazine acid (CAC), cyanazine amide (CAM), deethylcyanazine (DEC), and deethylcyanazine acid (DCAC) in groundwater. This research represents some of the earliest data on the occurrence of cyanazine degradates in groundwater. Although cyanazine was infrequently detected in the 64 wells across Iowa sampled in 1999, cyanazine degradates were commonly found during this study. The most frequently detected cyanazine compound was DCAC (32.8%) followed by CAC (29.7%), CAM (17.2%), DEC (3.1%), and cyanazine (3.1%). The frequency of detection for cyanazine or one or more of its degradates (CYTOT) was more than 12-fold over that of cyanazine alone (39.1% for CYTOT versus 3.1% for cyanazine). Of the total measured concentration of cyanazine, only 0.2% was derived from its parent compound-with DCAC (74.1%) and CAC (18.4%) comprising 92.5% of this total. Thus, although DCAC and CAC had similar frequencies of detection, DCAC was generally present in higher concentrations. No concentrations of cyanazine compounds for this study exceeded water-quality criteria for the protection of human health. Only cyanazine, however, has such a criteria established. Nevertheless, because these cyanazine degradates are still chlorinated, they may have similar toxicity as their parent compound-similarto what has been found with the chlorinated degradates of atrazine. Thus, the results of this study documented that data on the degradates for cyanazine are critical for understanding its fate and transport in the hydrologic system. Furthermore, the prevalence of the chlorinated degradates of cyanazine found in groundwater suggests that to accurately determine the overall effect on human health and the environment from cyanazine its degradates should also be considered. In addition, because CYTOT was found in 57.6% of the samples collected from alluvial aquifers, about 2-5 times more frequently than the other major aquifertypes (glacial drift, bedrock/karst, bedrock/nonkarst) under investigation, this finding has long-term implications for the occurrence of CYTOT in streams. It is anticipated that low-level concentrations of CYTOT will continue to be detected in streams for years after the use of cyanazine has terminated (scheduled for the year 2000 in the United States), primarily through its movement from groundwater into streams during base-flow conditions.

Degradation of pesticides by actinomycetes

Actinomycetes have considerable potential for the biotransformation and biodegradation of pesticides. Members of this group of Gram-positive bacteria have been found to degrade pesticides with widely different chemical structures, including organochlorines, s-triazines, triazinones, carbamates, organophosphates, organophosphonates, acetanilides, and sulfonylureas. A limited number of these xenobiotic pesticides can be mineralized by single isolates, but often consortia of bacteria are required for complete degradation. Cometabolism of pesticides is frequently observed within this group of bacteria. When compared with pesticide degradation by Gram-negative bacteria, much less information about molecular mechanisms involved in biotransformations of pesticides by actinomycetes is available. Progress in this area has been seriously hampered by a lack of suitable molecular genetic tools for most representatives of this major group of soil bacteria. Overcoming this constraint would enable a better exploitation of the biodegradation and biotransformation abilities of actinomycetes for applications such as bioremediation and construction of transgenic herbicide-resistant crops.