Biodegradation of tebuconazole by bacteria isolated from contaminated soils

The objective of this work was to isolate bacteria from soil historically exposed to tebuconazole and to evaluate the biodegradation of this fungicide by them. Tebuconazole is a commonly used systemic fungicide of the triazol group, which inhibits the sterol C-14 alpha-demethylation of 24-methylenedihydrolanosterol, a precursor of ergosterol, a cell membrane component in fungi. Microorganisms were isolated by different methods of soil sampling and the screening of degrading bacteria was performed in bioreactors cultivations, with some isolates showing the ability to degrade up to 42.76 mg L(- 1) of tebuconazole (51% of the initial concentration). These strains were identified by standard biochemical procedures as being Enterobacter sakazakii and Serratia sp. These bacteria present some important characteristics for potential uses on environmental bioremediation, considering that tebucanozale is an extremely recalcitrant chemical.