
AsianScientist (Apr. 14, 2011) – Genetically modified bacteria could be used in air filters to extract pesticide vapors from polluted air, according to a recent publication in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution.
Organophosphorus pesticides – a mixture of parathion and methyl parathion – are highly effective agrochemicals amounting to more than a third of agricultural crop protection worldwide. Unfortunately, they can accumulate in the environment and pose a risk to human health.
The bacteria Escherichia coli is known to cause food poisoning, kidney damage, and even death. However, E. coli may also be beneficial as a model organism in biological research.
Now, researchers in China have discovered that a genetically modified form of the bacteria can be used in a biofilter to extract toxic pesticides from air.
Junxin Liu and colleagues of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing demonstrated average removal efficiencies of 95.2 percent for parathion and 98.6 percent for methyl parathion using a biofilter based on the engineered bacteria E. coli BL21.
The team explained that compared to conventional biofilters, their system was far more effective, especially in the initial stages of filtering. The pesticides are broken down to p-nitrophenol as well as nitrate and sulfate byproducts. These byproducts are then quickly “mineralized” by other naturally occurring microbes present in the biofilter.
The article can be found at: Lin L. et al. (2011) Simultaneous removal of parathion and methyl parathion by genetically engineered Escherichia coli in a biofilter treating polluted air.
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Source: Inderscience Publishers.
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