Isolation Characterization and Diversity of Indigenous Pesticide Degrading Microbes from Selected Agro Ecological Zones of Malawi

Abstract

Pesticide xenobiotics have a great impact on bio argumentation, bio-magnification, and environment degradation regardless of being adopted by green revolution technologies. Bioremediation is widely accepted because it’s cheap, practical at the same time environmentally friendly. Bioremediation advocates indigenous microbes use to degrade pesticides, therefore a study has been performed to show prospects of degrading microorganisms. The study isolated microbes from different agro ecological zones to assess their capacity to utilize some pesticide as sole carbon source complimented by the presence of laccase gene. Biochemical test and genetic characterization using 16S rDNA genes were used in identification. Diversified species and strains of genus Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Pantoea and Leclercia, were found to degrade cypermethrin and acetochlor but no microbe was found to degrade dimethoate. The study adds new strain of microbes involved in degradation of cypermethrin and acetochlor and also strains that that can degrade both. The study puts proposition that pest infestation in fields is a result of abundance of xenobiotic degrading microbes due to natural selection pressure not pesticide resistance of the pest.