PesticideLambda-Cyhalothrin DegradationUsingMesorhizobium sp.(S1b) andBartonella sp.(S2b)StrainsIsolated from Cotton Crop

Lambda-cyhalothrin (LC), synthetic pyrethroid pesticide is used to control a wide range of pests invariety of agricultural fields. Pesticides are potentially harmful environmental pollutants and poseserious threat to human health. Very limited options are available for environment friendlyremoval of LC. Interestingly, soil microbes have been known to possess remarkable geneticmakeup that helps them to perform vital job in cleaning-up harmful pollutants from theenvironment. In present study, two LC-degrading bacteria viz.Mesorhizobium sp.strain S1B(Accession no. gb|MF471843|)andBartonella sp.strainS2B (Accession no. gb|MF471844|) wereisolated by soil enrichment technique from cotton crop soil and characterized taxonomically usingconventional methods and molecular PCR-based 16S rRNA sequence homology. The bacterialstrainsS1B andS2B achieved29% and 40% removal of LC (conc. 250 mg/L, w/v), with maximumgrowth absorbance(OD)of1.19 ±0.06 and1.13±0.09,respectively,during 20 days of incubationat 30°Cand agitation 200 rpm under experimental laboratory circumstances.The percent removalofLCwas estimated usingUV-Vis Spectroscopyat287 nm(λmax) against the standard curveplotted at different LC concentrations. The bacterial isolates of present study have exhibitedsubstantial efficiency for environmental biodegradationof the pesticide.