Microbial degradation of thidiazuron and its photoproduct.

Degradation of the cotton defoliant thidiazuron and its photoproduct photothidiazuron by soil and thirteen species of microorganisms was examined. Aspergillus versicolor, Torula rosea, and Flavobacter sp. were most active in degrading thidiazuron. Unknown water-soluble metabolites and phenylurea were the major products. A. versicolor and Penicillium cyclopium were most active in degrading photothidiazuron. 4-Hydroxyphenylphotothidiazuron was the major organosoluble product formed by A. versicolor; phenylurea and an unidentified metabolite constituted the major organosoluble products from P. cyclopium. Both microbes also formed appreciable water-soluble metabolites. Radioactive carbon dioxide was formed from thidiazuron-aniline-14C by Oscillatoria sp. but not by Chlorella sp., suggesting that the former algal species utilized the defoliant as an energy source.

Excretion balance, metabolic fate and tissue residues following treatment of rats with amitraz and N'-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-N-methylformamidine.

Amitraz and its metabolite N'-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-N-methyl-formamidine (BTS-27271) were administered orally to white rats. Both compounds were rapidly metabolized and eliminated primarily via the urine. The cumulative percentage of the dose eliminated in the urine was 77.6 for amitraz and 88.7 for BTS-27271 by 96 hr posttreatment. Amitraz degradation products present in urine included BTS-27271, 2,4-dimethylformanilide, 2,4-dimethylaniline, 4-formamido-3-methylbenzoic acid, 4-amino-3-methylbenzoic acid, and several unknowns. BTS-27271 degradation products in rat urine were similar to those found with amitraz. Tissue residues generally were low (less than 25 ppb) with the exception of those in liver.

Thidiazuron uptake, distribution and metabolism in bluegills and channel catfish.

Bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) exposed to 0.1 ppm of thidiazuron-14C cotton defoliant for 28 days under continuous flow conditions accumulated relatively low levels of radiocarbon. The maximum detected was 5.4 ppm in fillet tissue after 1 day. During a 14 day depuration period, radioactivity declined to 1.0 ppm or less. Fractionation of offal and fillet tissues from bluegills collected at 28 days indicated that most of the radioactive material was water soluble, although appreciable amounts of organosoluble radioactive material also were present. When bluegills were injected intraperitoneally with thidiazuron-14C, metabolism and elimination were relatively rapid. Organosoluble radioactive material isolated from fish tissue included thidiazuron, its 2-hydroxyphenyl derivative, phenylurea, and several unknowns. Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) exposed under static conditions to a system containing 0.15 ppm of thidiazuron-14C incorporated into soil also accumulated only low concentrations of radiocarbon. The maximum detected was 2.5 ppb in offal tissue at 7 days. In fillet tissue, radioactivity did not exceed 0.5 ppb. There was no evidence from these studies to indicate that thidiazuron would pose a hazard to the aquatic ecosystem.