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Dr. Rungroch Sungthong

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Guest Editor

Laboratory of Hydrology and Geochemistry of Strasbourg (LHyGeS), University of Strasbourg –French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), 67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Interests: antimicrobial resistance; environmental fate of pollutants and their health impacts; drug discovery from natural resources; green technology in agroindustry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Imfeld Gwenael

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Assistant Guest Editor

Laboratory of Hydrology and Geochemistry of Strasbourg (LHyGeS), Université de Strasbourg, UMR 7517 CNRS/EOST, 1 Rue Blessig, 67084, Strasbourg Cedex, France; National School of Water and Environmental Engineering of Strasbourg (ENGEES), French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), 75016 Paris, France
Interests: biogeochemistry of pollutants; microbial transformation and ecology in continental hydrosystems; biodegradation of industrial and micropolluants in wetlands, soils and aquifers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Although the concept of sustainable agriculture through using green technologies to reduce the use of chemical inputs in agriculture is encouraged, it is still hard to avoid using pesticides in promoting the production of commercial crops in climate change conditions. Some pesticides are still permitted to be used and some have high persistence in agroecosystems and consequently cause adverse impacts on environmental health. Numerous studies have also revealed that pesticides are among the xenobiotics that evolve antimicrobial resistance traits in the exposed microbial population. Hence, introducing various biotechnological approaches as alternatives to using pesticides and reducing the use of pesticides should be prioritized. On the other hand, if the use of pesticides is unavoidable, the environmental fate and ecotoxicity of such pesticides should be investigated beforehand, and the precise effective doses and ecological risk assessment require a standard application and recommendation. For the pesticides that are legacy pollutants, advanced knowledge and technology are needed to remediate their polluted environments and recirculate the effective land use for agriculture.

This Special Issue provides a platform to exchange and update our new insights into the link between pesticides and antimicrobial resistance problem, environmental fate, risk assessment and ecotoxicity of pesticides, biotechnological alternatives to reduce the use of pesticides, and transformation of pesticides together with the remediation technologies/approaches for the restoration of the pesticide-polluted environment. All types of articles that fall within the above research areas are welcome.

Dr. Rungroch Sungthong
Dr. Imfeld Gwenael
Guest Editors

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Keywords

pesticide
antimicrobial resistance
environmental fate
risk assessment
ecotoxicity
biocontrol
sustainable agriculture
pesticide-polluted environment
biotransformation
bioremediation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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26 pages, 13431 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Fungicide-Tolerant Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Mitigate Physiological Disruption of White Radish Caused by Fungicides Used in the Field Cultivation

by Sadaf Khan, Mohammad Shahid, Mohammad Saghir Khan, Asad Syed, Ali H. Bahkali, Abdallah M. Elgorban and John Pichtel

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(19), 7251; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph17197251 - 04 Oct 2020

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 3321

Abstract

Excessive use of fungicides in agriculture may result in substantial accumulation of active residues in soil, which affect crop health and yield. We investigated the response of Raphanus sativus (white radish) to fungicides in soil and potential beneficial interactions of radish plants with fungicide-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). The PGPR were isolated from cabbage and mustard rhizospheres. Morphological and biochemical characteristics measured using standard methods, together with analysis of partial 16S rRNA gene sequences, revealed that fungicide-tolerant PGPR, isolates PS3 and AZ2, were closely related to Pseudomonas spp. These PGPR survived in the presence of high fungicide concentrations i.e., up to 2400 μg mL⁻¹ carbendazim (CBZM) and 3200 μg mL⁻¹ hexaconazole (HEXA). Bacterial isolates produced plant growth stimulants even under fungicide stress, though fungicides induced surface morphological distortion and alteration in membrane permeability of these bacteria, which was proved by a set of microscopic observations. Fungicides considerably affected the germination efficiency, growth, and physiological development of R. sativus, but these effects were relieved when inoculated with PGPR isolates. For instance, CBZM at 1500 mg kg⁻¹ decreased whole dry biomass by 71%, whole plant length by 54%, total chlorophyll by 50%, protein content by 61%, and carotenoid production by 29%. After applying isolate AZ2 for white radish grown in CBZM (10 mg kg⁻¹)-amended soil, it could improve plant growth and development with increased whole plant dry weight (10%), entire plant length (13%) and total chlorophyll content (18%). Similarly, isolate PS3 enhanced plant survival by relieving plant stress with declined biomarkers, i.e., proline (12%), malondialdehyde (3%), ascorbate peroxidase (6.5%), catalase (18%), and glutathione reductase (4%). Application of isolates AZ2 and PS3 could be effective for remediation of fungicide-contaminated soil and for improving the cultivation of radish plants while minimizing inputs of fungicides. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring Pesticides in Antimicrobial Resistance Era and Sustainable Agriculture)

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Review

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18 pages, 1615 KiB

Open AccessReview

Herbicide Glyphosate: Toxicity and Microbial Degradation

by Simranjeet Singh, Vijay Kumar, Jatinder Pal Kaur Gill, Shivika Datta, Satyender Singh, Vaishali Dhaka, Dhriti Kapoor, Abdul Basit Wani, Daljeet Singh Dhanjal, Manoj Kumar, S. L. Harikumar and Joginder Singh

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(20), 7519; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph17207519 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 84 | Viewed by 10763

Abstract

Glyphosate is a non-specific organophosphate pesticide, which finds widespread application in shielding crops against the weeds. Its high solubility in hydrophilic solvents, especially water and high mobility allows the rapid leaching of the glyphosate into the soil leading to contamination of groundwater and accumulation into the plant tissues, therefore intricating the elimination of the herbicides. Despite the widespread application, only a few percentages of the total applied glyphosate serve the actual purpose, dispensing the rest in the environment, thus resulting in reduced crop yields, low quality agricultural products, deteriorating soil fertility, contributing to water pollution, and consequently threatening human and animal life. This review gives an insight into the toxicological effects of the herbicide glyphosate and current approaches to track and identify trace amounts of this agrochemical along with its biodegradability and possible remediating strategies. Efforts have also been made to summarize the biodegradation mechanisms and catabolic enzymes involved in glyphosate metabolism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring Pesticides in Antimicrobial Resistance Era and Sustainable Agriculture)

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