Nitroreduction of imidacloprid by the actinomycete Gordonia alkanivorans and the stability and acute toxicity of the nitroso metabolite

Abstract

The insecticide imidacloprid (IMI), which is used worldwide, pollutes environments and has significant ecotoxicological effects. Microbial metabolism and photolysis are the major pathways of IMI degradation in natural environments. Several studies have reported that the metabolites of IMI nitroreduction are more toxic to some insects and mammals than IMI itself. Thus, environmental degradation of IMI may enhance the ecotoxicity of IMI and have adverse effects on non-target organisms. Here, we report that an actinomycete-Gordonia alkanivorans CGMCC 21704-transforms IMI to a nitroreduction metabolite, nitroso IMI. Resting cells of G. alkanivorans at OD_{600 nm} = 10 transformed 95.7% of 200 mg L^-1 IMI to nitroso IMI in 4 d. Nitroso IMI was stable at pH 4-9. However, it rapidly degraded under sunlight via multiple oxidation, dehalogenation, and oxidative cleavage reactions to form 10 derivatives; the half-life of nitroso IMI in photolysis was 0.41 h, compared with 6.19 h for IMI. Acute toxicity studies showed that the half maximal effective concentration (EC₅₀) values of IMI, nitroso IMI, and its photolytic metabolites toward the planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna for immobilization (exposed to the test compounds for 48 h) were 17.70, 9.38, 8.44 mg L^-1, respectively. The half-life of nitroso IMI in various soils was also examined. The present study reveals that microbial nitroreduction accelerates IMI degradation and the nitroso IMI is easily decomposed by sunlight and in soil. However, nitroso IMI and its photolytic products have higher toxicity toward D. magna than the parent compound IMI, and therefore increase the ecotoxicity of IMI.

Keywords: Acute toxicity; Biotransformation; Daphnia magna; Imidacloprid; Nitroso imidacloprid; Photolysis.