Mycoremediation of the novel fungicide ametoctradin by different agricultural soils and accelerated degradation utilizing selected fungal strains

Abstract

Accelerating safety assessments for novel agrochemicals is imperative, advocating for in vitro setups to present pesticide biodegradation by soil microbiota before field studies. This approach enables metabolic profile generation in a controlled laboratory environment eliminating extrinsic factors. In the current study, ten different soil samples were utilized to check their capability to degrade Ametoctradin by their microbiota. Furthermore, five different fungal strains (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, and Penicillium chrysogenum) were utilized to degrade Ametoctradin in aqueous media. A degradation pathway was established using the metabolic patterns created during the biodegradation of Ametoctradin. In contrast to 47% degradation (T_1/2 of 34 days) when Ametoctradin was left in the soil samples, the fungal strain Aspergillus fumigatus demonstrated 71% degradation of parent Ametoctradin with a half-life (T_1/2) of 16 days. In conclusion, soil rich in microorganisms effectively cleans Ametoctradin-contaminated areas while Fungi have also been shown to be an effective, affordable, and promising way to remove Ametoctradin from the environment.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Environment
• fungicide
• agrochemicals
• half-life
• degradation
• fungal strains
• microorganisms

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Department of Environmental Science (Lab E-21), Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan. This work was supported by researchers supporting project number (RSP2024R293), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Ethics statement

The current work does not involve experimentation on any human or animals.

Authors’ contribution

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by (Sara Majid), (Khuram Shahzad Ahmad) and (Ghulam Abbas Ashraf), while (Wahidah H. Al- Qahtani) provided guidelines and facilitated in sample analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by (Sara Majid) and all authors commented on the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors have no relevant financial or non-relevant financial interests to disclose.

All authors have read, understood, and have complied as applicable with the statement on "Ethical responsibilities of Authors" as found in the Instructions for Authors and are aware that with minor exceptions, no changes can be made to authorship once the paper is submitted.

Data availability statement

Data will be available on demand.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by researchers supporting project number (RSP2024R293), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.