Plant Science Research, Vol. 38, 2016

Biodegradation of insecticides and herbicides by Aspergillus species: A review

Use of synthetic pesticides during past decades has led to serious environmental pollution and  residual toxicity to soil organisms. In view of this, efforts have been made all over to study  degradation of pesticides and their residues by microorganisms. Bacterial degradation of  pesticides has been extensively studied and several strains have been recommended for  application and accelerated degradation of residues but fungal degradation has attracted less  attention. Several filamentous fungal species belonging to ascomycetes have been found effective  in degrading the insecticides and herbicides. Moreover the spore forming ability enable them  more persistence in the nature even during harsh climate making them a better choice with less  number of applications. It is a review article and mainly focuses on the bioremediation of  pesticides using Aspergillus species.