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Degradation of Chlorpyrifos by an alkaline phosphatase from the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis

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Abstract

Spirulina is a photosynthetic, filamentous, spiral-shaped, multicellular, blue-green microalga. The two most important species are Spirulinamaxima and Spirulinaplatensis. Spirulina is considered an excellent food, lacking toxicity and having corrective properties against viral attacks, anemia, tumor growth and malnutrition. We have observed that cultures of Spirulina platensis grow in media containing up to 80 ppm of the organophosphorous pesticide, Chlorpyrifos. It was found to be due to an alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity that was detected in cell free extracts of Spirulina platensis. This activity was purified from the cell free extracts using ammonium sulphate precipitation and gel filtration and shown to belong to the class of EC 3.1.3.1 ALP. The purified enzyme degrades 100 ppm Chlorpyrifos to 20 ppm in 1 h transforming it into its primary metabolite 3, 5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridinol. This is the first report of degradation of Chlorpyrifos by Spirulina platensis whose enzymic mechanism has been clearly identified. These findings have immense potential for harnessing Spirulina platensis in bioremediation of polluted ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr.Vrinda Khole of NIRRH, Mumbai for the 2D PAGE analysis and Dr. Surekha Zingde and Dr. Rukmini Govekar of ACTREC, Mumbai and Dr. S. K. Apte of B. A. R. C., Mumbai for the MALDI-TOF experiments. Technical grade pure Chlorpyrifos was a gift from Dr. M. H. Fulekar, Professor, University department of Life Sciences, Mumbai University, Mumbai.

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  1. Department of Life Sciences, University of Mumbai, Vidyanagari, Santacruz (East), Mumbai, 400 098, India

    Rutwik Ravindra Mandakini Thengodkar & S. Sivakami

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  1. Rutwik Ravindra Mandakini Thengodkar
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  2. S. Sivakami
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Correspondence to Rutwik Ravindra Mandakini Thengodkar.

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Thengodkar, R.R.M., Sivakami, S. Degradation of Chlorpyrifos by an alkaline phosphatase from the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis . Biodegradation 21, 637–644 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-010-9331-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-010-9331-6

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