Monitoring the Bioremediation of Nicosulfuron Herbicide by Aspergillus niger

Subject Areas : Agriculture and Environment

Anne Bibi Ahmadi ¹ , ابراهیم غلامعلی پور علمداری ² , Fakhtak Taliei ³ , Ziba Avarseji ⁴

1 - Msc. graduated student of Weed Science, University of Gonbad Kavous.
2 - - Associate Prof. Dept. of Plant Production, University of Gonbad Kavous. *(Corresponding Author)
3 - Associate Prof., Dept. of Plant Production, University of Gonbad Kavous.
4 - Associate Prof. Dept. of Plant Production, University of Gonbad Kavous. *(Corresponding Author)

Received: 2024-12-03 Accepted : 2025-05-21 Published : 2025-05-22

Keywords: Dissolved oxygen, High performance chromatography, Hydrolysis, Total dissolved solid.,

Abstract :

 

Background and objective: Sulfonylurea family herbicides, by inhibiting stolactate synthase, cause disturbances in the growth of sensitive plants. Due to their high phytotoxicity to sensitive crops and the possibility of their transfer in surface runoff, their fate and impact on aquatic ecosystems is a concern. In this study, the ability to degrade nicosulfuron by Aspergillus niger was investigated.

Materials and Methods: This research was conducted based on a completely random design with 3 replications. The propagation of the isolates was done on PDA medium (200 g potato, 20 g dextrose and 20 g agar) in sterile conditions and the samples were kept in an incubator at a temperature of 25C. Amounts of zero, 0.4 and 0.8 mg.L^-1 of herbicide were added to PDB liquid culture medium modified with the combination of 100 grams of potato, 10 grams of dextrose/liter of medium. The containers were kept at 25C for 30 days. At intervals of 5 days, electrical conductivity, turbidity, amount of dissolved oxygen and total dissolved solids were measured. Also, the concentration of nicosulfuron was measured by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).

Findings: The results showed that turbidity increased in all three concentrations of zero, 0.4 and 0.8 over time. 25 days after inoculation, dissolved oxygen in the medium was reduced by A. niger fungi. The highest amount of dissolved oxygen in all concentrations, five days after inoculation by A. niger was 7.9 mg.L^-1, and the lowest amount was 1.2 mg.L^-1 recorded twenty-five days after inoculation. The lowest value of electrical conductivity was obtained from zero dose and the highest from 0.8 ml dose. Total dissolved solids increased with increasing concentration. The highest amount of soluble solids at 0.8 ml concentration were 1959.3 mg.L^-1, and the lowest at zero dose was 903 mg.L^-1. Based on HPLC results the inoculated sample with A. niger, the nicosulfuron concentration reached from 20 ppm to 0.457 ppm, which indicates its decomposition.

Discussion and Conclusion: An increase in the turbidity of the medium indicates the growth of fungi. The amount of turbidity in the control without herbicide was higher, indicating the growth of this fungus without problems. As the fungi population, increased the amount of oxygen consumed by them increased too and as a result, the amount of dissolved oxygen decreased. The ability of the fungus to break the herbicide into its constituent components causes an increase in total dissolved solids in the medium, therefore the lowest amount was obtained in the control medium without herbicide and the highest amount was obtained in the medium containing the herbicide nicosulfuron. The breakdown of glucose in the medium and the production of acetic acid causes a decrease in pH, which helps the hydrolysis of nicosulfuron and the intermediate substances are produced which were used by the desired fungi. Therefore, it seems that the presence of glucose in the medium is necessary to accelerate the biological decomposition process.

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