Soil bacterial community dynamics in plots managed with cover crops and no-till farming in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, USA.

AIMS: Assess bacterial community changes over time in soybean (Glycine max) crop fields following cover crop (CC) and no-till (NT) implementation under natural abiotic stressors. METHOD AND RESULTS: Soil bacterial community composition was obtained by amplifying, sequencing, and analysing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess the effects of tillage, CC, and time on bacterial community response. The most abundant phyla present were Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Verrucomicrobia. Bacterial diversity increased in periods with abundant water. Reduced tillage (RT) increased overall bacterial diversity, but NT with a CC was not significantly different than RT treatments under drought conditions. CCs shifted abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes depending on abiotic conditions. CONCLUSIONS: In the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV), USA, NT practices lower diversity and influence long-term community changes while cover crops enact a seasonal response to environmental conditions. NT and RT management affect soil bacterial communities differently than found in other regions of the country.

Can Pesticides Dissolved in Runoff and Exposed to Maturing Rice (Oryza sativa) Plants be Transferred to Seeds?

Agriculture's global challenge to feed an estimated 7.7 billion people is further exacerbated by less available cropland for production and rapidly changing climate patterns. Pesticides are often utilized to minimize crop losses due to pest infestations; however, problems arise when these chemicals are transported off production acreage, either by storm or irrigation events, and into nearby water bodies. Innovative management practices are needed to not only reduce the volume of runoff, but also to mitigate various pollutants, such as pesticides, within the runoff. One such practice being evaluated involves using rice (Oryza sativa) as a pesticide mitigation tool. While rice plants may serve as a mechanism for phytoremediation, whether the seeds harvested from exposed plants could then be utilized as a human food source is an unanswered question. Thirty round mesocosms (55 L volume; 56 cm diameter; six replicates per treatment) were established with rice and exposed to aqueous concentrations of the pesticides clomazone, propanil, or cyfluthrin, as well as a mixture of the three pesticides. Six replicates with rice and no pesticide exposure served as controls. Initial pesticide exposure took place 8 weeks post-planting and continued once a week for 5 weeks. Rice plants, unmilled seeds, and mesocosm sediment were collected from each mesocosm 2 weeks after seed formation began and analyzed for pesticide concentrations using gas chromatography. Concentrations of pesticides in unmilled seed were below detection for individual exposures of clomazone, propanil, and cyfluthrin. When rice was exposed to the pesticide mixture, the mean ± SE unmilled seed cyfluthrin concentration was 14.8 ± 1.25 µg kg-1. These small-scale, preliminary studies offer insight into the possibility of using immature rice plants as a phytoremediation tool, while harvesting its grain after plant maturation for human consumption. Further research is needed to address this question on a larger scale and with multiple pesticide mixtures.

Advancing the Sustainability of US Agriculture through Long-Term Research.

Agriculture in the United States must respond to escalating demands for productivity and efficiency, as well as pressures to improve its stewardship of natural resources. Growing global population and changing diets, combined with a greater societal awareness of agriculture's role in delivering ecosystem services beyond food, feed, fiber, and energy production, require a comprehensive perspective on where and how US agriculture can be sustainably intensified, that is, made more productive without exacerbating local and off-site environmental concerns. The USDA's Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network is composed of 18 locations distributed across the contiguous United States working together to integrate national and local agricultural priorities and advance the sustainable intensification of US agriculture. We explore here the concept of sustainable intensification as a framework for defining strategies to enhance production, environmental, and rural prosperity outcomes from agricultural systems. We also elucidate the diversity of factors that have shaped the past and present conditions of cropland, rangeland, and pastureland agroecosystems represented by the LTAR network and identify priorities for research in the areas of production, resource conservation and environmental quality, and rural prosperity. Ultimately, integrated long-term research on sustainable intensification at the national scale is critical to developing practices and programs that can anticipate and address challenges before they become crises.

Can Rice (Oryza sativa) Mitigate Pesticides and Nutrients in Agricultural Runoff?

Phytoremediation of nutrients and pesticides in runoff is a growing conservation effort, particularly in agriculturally intensive areas such as the lower Mississippi River Valley. In the current study, rice (Oryza sativa) was examined for its mitigation capacity of nitrogen, phosphorus, diazinon, and permethrin. Twenty-two high density polyethylene circular containers (56 cm x 45 cm) were used as mesocosms, with 12 mesocosms planted with rice and 10 mesocosms remaining unvegetated. Mesocosms were hydraulically connected and arranged in a series of two, with each system providing a 4 h hydraulic retention time (HRT) for a total system retention time of 8 h. Two treatments (RICE/RICE and RICE/BARE) of four replicates each were utilized, with three replicates of controls (BARE/BARE). Systems with RICE/RICE (8 h HRT) significantly reduced diazinon (p = 0.0126), cis-permethrin (p = 0.0442), filtered orthophosphate (p = 0.0058), and total orthophosphate (p = 0.0123) compared to control systems. No significant differences were noted for trans-permethrin, nitrate, or ammonium. Results indicate promise in phytoremediation of agricultural runoff by rice. If further studies reveal contaminants are not transferred into seeds, then rice could potentially serve as both a remediation tool and food source in countries facing agricultural pollution challenges.

Application of Polyacrylamide (PAM) through Lay-Flat Polyethylene Tubing: Effects on Infiltration, Erosion, N and P Transport, and Corn Yield.

Polyacrylamides (PAMs), when applied as a soil amendment, purportedly improve soil infiltration, decrease erosion, and reduce offsite agrochemical transport. The effect of PAM on infiltration, erosion, agrochemical transport, and crop yield when applied in furrow to mid-southern US production systems has not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to assess PAM effects on infiltration, erosion, corn ( L.) grain yield, and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) transport when applied at 10 mg L through lay-flat polyethylene tubing. A 2-yr field study was conducted at the Mississippi State Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS, on a Dundee silt loam and a Forestdale silty clay loam. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications of each treatment: irrigated plus no PAM (control) and irrigated plus PAM at 10 mg L. Each irrigation event delivered 102 mm of water at 18.9 L m per furrow, and runoff was captured in a holding tank on the lower end of each plot. Pooled over year and soil texture, PAM increased infiltration and corn grain yield by 6% ( ≤ 0.0398). Polyacrylamide effects on the offsite transport of sediment and N and P were inconsistent, varying across year and soil texture. Results indicate that PAM improves infiltration and corn grain yield on silt loam and silty clay loam textured soils; however, further research is required before PAM can be recommended as a best management practice for mitigating erosion and offsite agrochemical transport in mid-southern production systems.

Using aquatic vegetation to remediate nitrate, ammonium, and soluble reactive phosphorus in simulated runoff.

Within the agriculturally-intensive Mississippi River Basin of the United States, significant conservation efforts have focused on management practices that reduce nutrient runoff into receiving aquatic ecosystems. Only a small fraction of those efforts have focused on phytoremediation techniques. Each of six different aquatic macrophytes were planted, in monoculture, in three replicate mesocosms (1.2 m × 0.15 m × 0.65 m). Three additional unvegetated mesocosms served as controls for a total number of 21 mesocosms. Over two years, mesocosms were amended once each summer with sodium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and potassium phosphate dibasic to represent nitrogen and phosphorus in agricultural runoff. System retention was calculated using a simple aqueous mass balance approach. Ammonium retention in both years differed greatly, as Panicum hemitomon and Echinodorus cordifolius retentions were significantly greater than controls in the first year, while only Myriophyllum aquaticum and Typha latifolia were significantly greater than controls in the second year. Greater soluble reactive phosphorus retention was observed in T. latifolia compared to controls in both years. Several other significant differences were observed in either the first or second year, but not both years. In the first year's exposure, P. hemitomon was significantly more efficient than the control, Saururus cernuus, and T. latifolia for overall percent nitrate decrease. Results of this novel study highlight inherent variability within and among species for nutrient specific uptake and the temporal variations of species for nutrient retention. By examining this natural variability, scientists may design phytoremediation systems with greater impact on improving agricultural runoff water quality.

Drying and Storage Methods Affect Cyfluthrin Concentrations in Exposed Plant Samples.

Standard procedures do not exist for drying and storage of plant samples prior to chemical analyses. Since immediate analysis is not always possible, current research examined which plant drying and storage method yielded the highest cyfluthrin recovery rates compared to traditional mechanical freeze-drying methods. Fifteen mesocosms were planted with rice. Cyfluthrin (5 mg L(-1)) was amended into the water column of individual mesocosms. 48 h later, plant material in the water column was collected from each mesocosm. Control (mechanical freeze drying) recovery was significantly greater (p < 0.001) than all 14 combinations of drying and storage. Significant differences also existed between all 14 different combinations. Greatest cyfluthrin recoveries in non-control plants were from the freezer-greenhouse-freezer drying and storage method. Results offer evidence for the efficient plant drying and storage methods prior to cyfluthrin analysis. Future studies should perform comparable analyses on various pesticide classes to determine possible relationships.

Diazinon and permethrin mitigation across a grass-wetland buffer.

Vegetated buffers of different designs are often used as edge-of-field treatment practices to remove pesticides that may be entrained in agricultural runoff. However, buffer system efficacy in pesticide runoff mitigation varies widely due to a multitude of factors including, but not limited to, pesticide chemistry, vegetation composition, and hydrology. Two experimental systems, a control (no vegetation) and a grass-wetland buffer system, were evaluated for their ability to retain diazinon and permethrin associated with a simulated storm runoff. The two systems were equally inefficient at retaining diazinon (mean 9.6 % retention for control and buffer). Grass-wetland buffers retained 83 % and 85 % of cis- and trans-permethrin masses, respectively, while the control only retained 39 % and 44 % of cis- and trans-permethrin masses, respectively. Half-distances (the distance required to decrease pesticide concentration by one-half) for both permethrin isomers were 26 %-30 % shorter in grass buffers (22-23 m) than in the control (32 m). The current study demonstrates treatment efficacy was a function of pesticide properties with the more strongly sorbing permethrin retained to a greater degree. The study also demonstrates challenges in remediating multiple pesticides with a single management practice. By using suites of management practices, especially those employing vegetation, better mitigation of pesticide impacts may be accomplished.

Effect of storage method and associated holding time on nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in surface water samples.

Assessments were conducted to determine the effect of sample storage method and associated holding time on surface water nutrient concentrations from field sites. Six surface water sites and two nutrient spiked, laboratory water samples were evaluated for nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, filtered orthophosphorus, and total orthophosphorus concentrations on four separate days throughout the period of 1 year. Samples stored at ambient temperature (23°C) for 24 h prior to nutrient analyses resulted in 18 % ± 2 % of results being significantly different from controls (which were analyzed immediately upon collection). Samples placed in the cooler (4°C) for 7 days prior to nutrient analyses resulted in 30 % ± 1 % of values being significantly different from controls. Samples placed in the freezer (-20°C) for 7 days prior to analyses resulted in 34 % ± 12 %, 44 % ± 10 %, and 28 % ± 5.7 % of ammonium, filtered orthophosphate, and total orthophosphate, respectively, values being significantly different from controls. This study highlights the challenges facing researchers in efficient collection, storage and nutrient analysis of samples, especially when sites are remote and difficult to access .

Phytotoxicity of atrazine, S-metolachlor, and permethrin to Typha latifolia (Linneaus) germination and seedling growth.

Phytotoxicity assessments were performed to compare responses of Typha latifolia (L.) seeds to atrazine (only) and atrazine + S-metolachlor exposure concentrations of 0.03, 0.3, 3, and 30 mg L(-1), as well as permethrin exposure concentrations of 0.008, 0.08, 0.8, and 8 mg L(-1). All atrazine + S-metolachlor exposures resulted in significantly reduced radicle development (p < 0.001). A stimulatory effect for coleoptile development was noted in the three highest atrazine (only) exposures (p = 0.0030, 0.0181, and 0.0016, respectively). This research provides data concerning the relative sensitivity of T. latifolia seeds to pesticides commonly encountered in agricultural settings, as well as critical understanding and development of using T. latifolia in phytoremediation efforts for pesticide exposures.

The challenge of documenting water quality benefits of conservation practices: a review of USDA-ARS's conservation effects assessment project watershed studies.

The Conservation Effects Assessment Project was established to quantify water quality benefits of conservation practices supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In 2004, watershed assessment studies were begun in fourteen agricultural watersheds with varying cropping systems, landscapes, climate, and water quality concerns. This paper reviews USDA Agricultural Research Service 'Benchmark' watershed studies and the challenge of identifying water quality benefits in watersheds. Study goals included modeling and field research to assess practices, and evaluation of practice placement in watersheds. Not all goals were met within five years but important lessons were learned. While practices improved water quality, problems persisted in larger watersheds. This dissociation between practice-focused and watershed-scale assessments occurred because: (1) Conservation practices were not targeted at critical sources/pathways of contaminants; (2) Sediment in streams originated more from channel and bank erosion than from soil erosion; (3) Timing lags, historical legacies, and shifting climate combined to mask effects of practice implementation; and (4) Water quality management strategies addressed single contaminants with little regard for trade-offs among contaminants. These lessons could help improve conservation strategies and set water quality goals with realistic timelines. Continued research on agricultural water quality could better integrate modeling and monitoring capabilities, and address ecosystem services.

Constructed wetlands as a component of the agricultural landscape: mitigation of herbicides in simulated runoff from upland drainage areas.

Constructed wetlands are a recommended practice for buffering pollutant source areas and receiving waters. A wetland consisting of a sediment trap and two treatment cells was constructed in a Mississippi Delta lake watershed. A 3-h simulated runoff event was initiated (2003) to evaluate fate and transport of atrazine and fluometuron through the wetland. Water samples were collected during a runoff simulation and then afterward at selected intervals for 21d, and analyzed for the herbicides. Breakthrough patterns for herbicide concentrations in water samples during the first 20h after simulated runoff showed peak concentrations in the first 6h, with gradual tailing as the herbicide pulse was diluted in the second, excavated (deeper) cell. Atrazine and fluometuron concentrations in the first (shallower, non-excavated) cell averaged 12- and 20-fold greater, respectively, than those in the second cell following simulated runoff, indicating entrapment in the first cell. Atrazine and fluometuron concentrations in the shallower cell decreased 32% and 22%, respectively, 9d following simulated runoff, indicating either degradation or sorption to soil or wetland flora. In the excavated cell, concentrations were even lower, and atrazine declined more rapidly than fluometuron. Results indicate constructed wetlands can improve downstream water quality though sequestration or processing of pollutants.

Nutrient mitigation capacity in Mississippi Delta, USA drainage ditches.

Eutrophication and hypoxia within aquatic systems are a serious international concern. Various management practices have been proposed to help alleviate nutrient loads transported to the Gulf of Mexico and other high-profile aquatic systems. The current study examined the nutrient mitigation capacity of a vegetated (V) and non-vegetated (NV) agricultural drainage ditch of similar size and landform in the Mississippi Delta. While no statistically significant differences in ammonium, nitrate, or dissolved inorganic phosphorus mitigation between the two ditches existed, there were significant differences in total inorganic phosphorus percent load reductions (V: 36% +/- 4; NV: 71% +/- 4). However, both agricultural drainage ditches were able to mitigate nutrients, thus reducing the load reaching downstream aquatic receiving systems. Further studies examining ecosystem dynamics within drainage ditches such as sediment and plant nutrient partitioning, as well as microbial processes involved, are needed to provide a better understanding of natural nutrient variability, seasonality and flux.

Mitigation of two pyrethroid insecticides in a Mississippi Delta constructed wetland.

Constructed wetlands are a suggested best management practice to help mitigate agricultural runoff before entering receiving aquatic ecosystems. A constructed wetland system (180 m x 30 m), comprising a sediment retention basin and two treatment cells, was used to determine the fate and transport of simulated runoff containing the pyrethroid insecticides lambda-cyhalothrin and cyfluthrin, as well as suspended sediment. Wetland water, sediment, and plant samples were collected spatially and temporally over 55 d. Results showed 49 and 76% of the study's measured lambda-cyhalothrin and cyfluthrin masses were associated with vegetation, respectively. Based on conservative effects concentrations for invertebrates and regression analyses of maximum observed wetland aqueous concentrations, a wetland length of 215 m x 30 m width would be required to adequately mitigate 1% pesticide runoff from a 14 ha contributing area. Results of this experiment can be used to model future design specifications for constructed wetland mitigation of pyrethroid insecticides.

Population ecology of Aspergillus flavus associated with Mississippi Delta soils.

Understanding the source of Aspergillus flavus is required to manage aflatoxin contamination of maize (Zea mays L.). Studies assessed A. flavus propagules, Fusarium spp., and total fungi associated with Mississippi Delta soils. Soils from 12 and 15 sites were collected in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The propagule density of A. flavus ranged from log(10) 2.0 to 4.3 colony-forming units (cfu) g(-1) soil, while total fusaria ranged from log(10) 3.0 to 5.4 cfu g(-1) soil. The highest populations of A. flavus were associated with soils containing higher organic matter, especially in sites under a no-tillage management. The frequency of aflatoxin production in isolates ranged from 13 to 81% depending on soil. In 2001, there was a highly significant correlation between A. flavus and the history of maize cultivation. Soil fertility factors such as organic matter content, nitrate and extractable phosphorus correlated with the density of Aspergillus, Fusarium spp., and total fungi. The relationship between soil parameters and Aspergillus populations may be useful in predicting the contribution of soil microflora to aflatoxin contamination.

Laboratory assessment of atrazine and fluometuron degradation in soils from a constructed wetland.

Constructed wetlands offer promise for removal of nonpoint source contaminants such as herbicides from agricultural runoff. Laboratory studies assessed the potential of soils to degrade and sorb atrazine and fluometuron within a recently constructed wetland. The surface 3 cm of soil was sampled from two cells of a Mississippi Delta constructed wetland; one shallow area disturbed only hydrologically, and the second excavated to provide greater water-holding capacity. The excavated area was more acidic on average (pH 4.85 versus 5.21), but otherwise the physical properties and general microbial enzyme activities in the two areas were similar. Soils were treated with 84 and 68 microg kg(-1) soil (14)C-ring labeled atrazine and fluometuron, respectively, and incubated under either saturated (88% moisture, w:w) or flooded (1cm standing water) conditions. Soils were sampled over 32 days and extracted for herbicide and metabolite analysis. Under saturated conditions, fluometuron metabolized to desmethylfluometuron (DMF) with a half-life equal 25-27 days. However, under flooded conditions, the half-life of fluometuron was more than 175 days. Atrazine dissipated rapidly in saturated and flooded soil with a half-life of approximately 23 days, but only 10% of atrazine was mineralized to CO(2). The overall atrazine and fluometuron dissipation rates were similar between the two cells, but each area had a different pattern of metabolite accumulation. The major route of atrazine dissipation was incorporation of atrazine residues into methanol-nonextractable (soil-bound) components, with minimal extractable metabolite accumulation. A mixed-mode extractant (potassium phosphate:acetonitrile) recovered greater amounts of (14)C-residues from atrazine-treated soils, suggesting that hydrolysis of atrazine to hydroxylated metabolites was a major component of the bound residues. These studies indicate the potential for herbicide dissipation in wetland soils and a differential effect of flooding on the fate of these herbicides.

Differences in microbial biomass, organic carbon, and dye sorption between flow and no-flow regions of unsaturated soil.

Transport models in which the liquid phase is partitioned between conducting and nonconducting regions allow the possibility that degradation and sorption are different in these regions. However, there is little information on biological or chemical differences between conducting and nonconducting regions of the soil matrix. Previous work by the authors on Br transport through unsaturated, intact soil cores of Dundee silty clay loam (fine-silty, mixed, active, thermic Typic Endoaqualf) indicated non-equilibrium conditions that could be well-described by a two-region model. Fitted parameters indicated little solute transfer between flow regions, suggesting that dye movement in unsaturated soil might delineate conducting and nonconducting regions of this soil. Steady-state, unsaturated flow was established in intact cores (10 by 30 cm) of the Dundee soil, then Br and erioglaucine dye were displaced through these cores. The soil cores were then sectioned into 5-cm segments and stained soil was separated from unstained soil. Microbial biomass C, organic C, and dye sorption K(D) (= g(sorbed) kg(-1)soil/g L(-1)) values for stained and unstained soil were determined. Stained soil had higher microbial biomass C but generally lower organic C and lower affinity for dye sorption than unstained soil from the same depth increment. Fraction of immobile water, dispersion, and mass transfer between conducting and nonconducting regions were consistent with previous results.

Fluorescent Pseudomonas isolates from Mississippi Delta oxbow lakes: in vitro herbicide biotransformations.

Fluorescent pseudomonads were a major component [log (10) 4.2-6.1 colony-forming units mL-1] of the culturable heterotrophic gram-negative bacterioplankton observed in three Mississippi Delta oxbow lakes in this study. Pure cultures of fluorescent pseudomonads were isolated from three Mississippi Delta oxbow lakes (18 per lake), using selective media S-1. Classical physiological tests and Biolog GN plates were used in criteria for taxonomic identification. Most isolates were identified as biotypes of Pseudomonas fluorescens 55% (II), 7% (III), and 25% (V). About 7% of the isolates were identified as P. putida and 7% as non-fluorescent Pseudomonas-like. Cell suspensions of these isolates were tested for their ability to metabolize/co-metabolize six 14C-radiolabeled herbicides (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), cyanazine, fluometuron, metolachlor, propanil, and trifluralin) that are commonly used for crop production in this geographical area. Almost all (53 of 54) isolates transformed trifluralin via aromatic nitroreduction. Most isolates (70%) dechlorinated metolachlor to polar metabolites via glutathione conjugation. About 60% of the isolates hydrolyzed the amide bond of propanil (a rice herbicide) to dichloroaniline, with the highest frequency of propanil-hydrolyzing isolates observed in the lake from the watershed with rice cultivation. All propanil-hydrolyzing isolates were identified as P. fluorescens biotype II. No metabolism of cyanazine or fluometuron was observed by any isolates tested, indicating little or no potential for N-dealkylation among this group of bacterioplankton. No mineralization of 2,4-D labeled in either the carboxyl or ring position was observed. These results indicate that reductive and hydrolytic pathways for herbicide co-metabolism (aromatic nitroreduction, aryl acylamidase, and glutathione conjugation) are common in Mississippi Delta aquatic fluorescent pseudomonads; however, the potential for certain oxidative transformations (N-dealkylation, cyano group oxidation) may be rare in this group of bacterioplankton.

Effects of pH on chemical stability and de-esterification of fenoxaprop-ethyl by purified enzymes, bacterial extracts, and soils.

De-esterification is an initial step in the metabolism of certain herbicides, for example, fenoxaprop-ethyl [(+/-)-ethyl 2-[4-[(6-chloro-2-benzoxaolyl)oxy]phenoxy]propanoate] (FE). The ethyl-ester bond cleavage of FE to fenoxaprop acid (FA) by purified enzymes, crude bacterial enzyme preparations, and soils was investigated. In similar experiments fluorescein diacetate (FDA) was used as an alternative substrate. FE stability was pH sensitive in acidic buffered solutions; that is, below pH 4.6, rapid nonenzymatic hydrolysis of the benzoxazolyl-oxy-phenoxy ether linkage occurred, forming 6-chloro-2,3-dihydro-benzoxazol-2-one (CDHB) and ethyl 4-hydroxyphenoxypropanoate or 4-hydroxyphenoxypropanoate. With porcine esterase and cell-free Pseudomonas fluorescens extracts, activity on FE and FDA was most rapid at pH 7.6-8.6 but decreased 80-90% at pH 5.6. Yeast (Candida cylindrica) lipase-mediated de-esterification of FE and FDA was not as sensitive to pH; that is, activity at pH 4.6 was 70% of that at pH 7.6. Short-term incubations (20 h) were conducted in eight soils (pH 4.5-6.9) treated with (14)C-chlorophenyl ring-labeled FE (2 mg kg(-)(1)). In the most acidic soils (pH 4.4-4.5) 25% of the (14)C was recovered as FA, versus 30-40% in moderately acid soils (pH 5.0-5.6) and 55% in neutral soils (pH 6.8-6.9). There was a similar correlation between soil pH and FDA de-esterification. CDHB was formed in all acidic soils with levels 4-fold greater in pH 4.4-4.5 soils than in pH 5. 0-5.6 soils. CDHB was not formed in neutral soils. Results demonstrate some chemical hydrolysis (benzoxazolyl-oxy-phenoxy ether linkage) of FE in acid soils, the sensitivity of enzymatic de-esterification of FE to pH, and the potential of FDA as a colorimetric indicator for esterase hydrolysis of FE.

Glutathione-s-transferase activity and metabolism of glutathione conjugates by rhizosphere bacteria.

Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity was determined in 36 species of rhizosphere bacteria with the substrate 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) and in 18 strains with the herbicide alachlor. Highest levels of CDNB-GST activity (60 to 222 nmol (middot) h(sup-1) (middot) mg(sup-1)) were found in gram-negative bacteria: Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter diversus, Klebsiella planticola, Pseudomonas cepacia, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas putida, and Xanthomonas campestris. There was very low CDNB-GST activity in the gram-positive strains. Rapid metabolism of CDNB-glutathione conjugates, attributable to high levels of (gamma)-glutamyltranspeptidase, also occurred in the gram-negative bacteria, especially pseudomonads. Alachlor-GST activity detected in cell extracts and whole-cell suspensions of some strains of the families Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonaceae was 50- to 100-fold lower than CDNB-GST activity (0.5 to 2.5 nmol (middot) h(sup-1) (middot) mg(sup-1)) and was, for the most part, constitutive. The glutathione-alachlor conjugate was rarely detected. Cysteineglycine and/or cysteine conjugates were the major products of alachlor-GST metabolism. Whole-cell suspensions of certain Pseudomonas spp. dechlorinated from 20 to 75% of 100 (mu)M alachlor in 24 h. Results indicate that rhizosphere bacteria, especially fluorescent pseudomonads, may play an important role in the degradation of xenobiotics such as alachlor via GST-mediated reactions.