Chlorpyrifos degradation using binary fungal strains isolated from industrial waste soil

Chlorpyrifos is a broad-spectrum organophosphate pesticide and used frequently on different cropping systems to control phytopathogens. Being a hazardous substance, chlorpyrifos may affect human health as some unutilized pesticide percolates through soil and contaminates ground water. Present study was planned to establish an effective remediation method of chlorpyrifos using two fungal isolates (C1 and C3), recovered from the waste (soil) of a refrigeration industry. C1 and C3, identified as Byssochlamys spectabilis and Aspergillus fumigates respectively were able to tolerate 600 mg L− 1 of chlorpyrifos. “The Half-life of chlorpyrifos (control) was 231 days which could be reduced to 13.6 days” under in vitro condition in the presence of mixture of two fungi in Czapek dox medium (CDM). Consortium of the fungi showed 98.4 % degradation of chlorpyrifos within 30 days in CDM. Degradation of the pesticide was related to specific laccase activity of the fungi and the level of enzyme activity was better in consortium 9.09 and 10.29 U mL− 1 after 6 and 10 days respectively. Immobilized fungal enzymes also showed appreciable biodegradation of the pesticide by providing extra matrix for enzyme substrate reaction. Residual analysis of chlorpyrifos in the soil of onion (Allium cepa) in a phytoremediation experiment revealed a significant decrease in t1/2 value in the presence of fungi. Hence, it is concluded that chlorpyrifos biodegradation ability of fungal consortium reveals the potential of these isolates in biodegradation of toxic compounds from contaminated water and soil. However, further studies are needed to access the biodegradation of the pesticide in different soil types, crops and under varied environmental conditions at molecular level.