Assessment of bacterial biodetoxification of herbicide atrazine using Aliivibrio fischeri cytotoxicity assay with prolonged contact time.

In our study, we determined and compared the atrazine-biodetoxification ability of 41 bacterial strains and 21 consortia created of those with over 50% degradation rate in pure cultures. Biodegradation capacity was measured with GC-MS. Detoxification was assessed based on the cytotoxic effect of end-products to Aliivibrio fischeri in chronic bioluminescence inhibition assay with 25 h contact time. Chronic A. fischeri assay adapted to a microplate, which is suitable for examine numerous residues simultaneously, also appeared to be significantly more sensitive to atrazine compared to the standard acute (30 min) test. Due to its sensitivity, the chronic assay could be a valuable tool to provide a more comprehensive view of the ecological risks of atrazine and other chemicals. Thirteen strains were able to degrade more than 50% of 50 ppm atrazine. Four of these belong to Rhodococcus aetherivorans, R. qingshengii, Serratia fonticola and Olivibacter oleidegradans which species' atrazine degrading ability has never been reported before. Four consortia degrading ability was more effective than that of the creating individual strains; moreover, their residues did not show cytotoxic effects to A. fischeri. However, in several cases, the degradation products of sole strains and consortia resulted in significant bioluminescence inhibition. Thus high biodegradation (>90%) does not certainly mean the reduction or cessation of toxicity highlighting the importance of the evaluation of biological effects of degradation residues to improve the efficiency and abate the ecological risks of bioremediation techniques.