BIODEGRADATION OF GLYPHOSATE BY FUNGAL STRAINS ISOLATED FROM HERBICIDES POLLUTED-SOILS IN RIYADH AREA (Published)
Forty-five fungal isolates were isolated from eleven cultivated soil farms (Riyadh and Karj area, KSA) after enrichment with Mineral Salt Media (MSM) supplemented with the herbicide glyphosate. The organophosphorous herbicide efficiently stimulated the growth of fungal isolates. The fungal isolates were characterized and identified and selected for mycoremedaition experiments. Certain fungal strains were tolerated to the herbicide up to 10,000 ppm where the growth inhibition reached up 47.92% in certain isolate. 800 ppm of glyphosate almost was degraded and metabolised in liquid Czapek Dox broth medium containing 1% sucrose by certain fungi as A. flavus WDCZ2 (99.6%) and P. spiculisporus ASP5 (95.7%) folowed by P. verruculosum WGP1 (90.8%). The other fungal strains did not record resonable mycoremedaition of the herbicide within 16 days, where A. niger FGP1 (37%), Bipolaris spicifera CDCZ4 (30.6%), A. terreus BGCZ3 (27%), Alt. tenuissima CDP4 (14.7%), P. spinulosum ASP3 (13.9%), A. tamarii PDCZ1 (12.5%) and A. terreus PDP1 (8.4%). On the basis of present findings, A. flavus WDCZ2 and Penicillium spiculisporus ASP5 can be recommended as potentially effective fungal strains and environmentally safer alternative tools to protect the environment from the pollution of glyphosate residues
Keywords: Glyphosate, Herbicides, Mycoremdaition, Polluted-soils