Degradation of pendimethalin by the yeast YC2 and determination of its two main metabolites

Abstract

In this study, we isolated a yeast strain, YC2, by enrichment culture from pendimethalin-contaminated soil. The analysis of its phenotypic features and 26S rRNA sequence confirmed that the strain YC2 is Clavispora lusitaniae. According to the kinetics of pendimethalin degradation, YC2 could degrade 74% of 200 mg L⁻¹ pendimethalin in CMB liquid culture over 8 days. LC-MS/MS was used to identify the metabolites of pendimethalin after degradation. This study confirmed that its metabolites consist of 1,2-dimethyl-3,5-dinitro-4-N(buta-1,3-dien-2-yl)-dinitrobenzenamine-N-oxide and 1,2-dimethyl-3,5-dinitro-4-N(prop-1-en-2-yl)-dinitrobenzenamine-N-oxide, which were broken down by a series of enzymatic reactions to produce CO₂ and H₂O. Thus, the study herein sheds light on the role of yeast in the degradation of pendimethalin.