ABSTRACT
A strain which was capable of degrading nicosulfuron in the presence of glucose was isolated from nicosulfuron contaminated wetland soil, and it was identified as Klebsiella sp. based on 16S rDNA gene sequencing analysis. The strain could grow using nicosulfuron as the sole nitrogen source. The optimal temperature was 35 degrees C and the initial pH was neutral to weak acid. Hydrolysis experiments indicated that nicosulfuron remained stably under neutral and alkaline conditions, while in acidic conditions, it hydrolyzed quickly. Based on biodegradation experiments, when the concentration of glucose in culture was 5 g x L(-1), the strain could degrade 99.4% of nicosulfuron after incubation for 10 days at 35 degrees C, initial pH = 7; pH of the solution decreased from initial 7.0 to 4.0 in the meantime. When the concentration of glucose in culture solution was decreased to 500 mg x L(-1) and 100 mg x L(-1), with other conditions unchanged, only 11.7% and 6.6% of nicosulfuron were degraded, respectively, and pH of the solution remained at around 7.0. It was proposed that the degradation of nicosulfuron was caused by hydrolysis under acidic conditions at low pH which was resulted from the biodegradation of glucose by the strain. Therefore, the removal of nicosulfuron was actually caused by combined effects of microorganisms and chemical hydrolysis.
Subject(s)
Environmental Pollutants/isolation & purification , Klebsiella/isolation & purification , Pyridines/isolation & purification , Soil Microbiology , Sulfonylurea Compounds/isolation & purification , Biodegradation, Environmental , Environmental Pollutants/metabolism , Glucose/metabolism , Herbicides/isolation & purification , Herbicides/metabolism , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Hydrolysis , Klebsiella/metabolism , Pyridines/metabolism , Sulfonylurea Compounds/metabolismABSTRACT
Genetic diversity among 51 isolates of the mycoparasite Sphaerellopsis filum from Melampsora rusts on willow and poplar was examined using AFLP. Genetic variation was relatively low among the isolates (Nei & Li's similarities > or =90). Genetic diversity calculated using Shannon index was 0.119 at Loughgall, Northern Ireland, 0.109 at Markington, northern England, 0.039 at Craibstone, Scotland, and 0.015 at Long Ashton, southwest England. At Long Ashton, 14 out of 16 isolates shared the same AFLP bands. Two genotypes were found at both Markington and Loughgall. The low genetic diversity and a high rate of clonality suggested that asexual reproduction plays a major role in S. filum epidemics. Sequence information was also obtained from the ITS-5.8S region of the ribosomal DNA from the S. filum isolates derived from willow and poplar rusts and six isolates derived from other sources. ITS sequences were identical among all the 51 isolates from willow and poplar rusts. ITS analysis placed S. filum isolates from Melampsora spp. on willow and poplar, Puccinia coronata on grass and Melampsora sp. on Euphorbia sp. into one clade and the isolates from blackberry rust Phragmidium violaceum and larch rust Triphragmiopsis laricinum into another. Nucleotide sequence differences between the two groups were 8.4-10.4 %. The ITS-5.8S sequences obtained in this study were compared with those deposited in the GenBank database.
