From Garden Soil to Green Solutions: Microbial Degradation of Fluorinated Pyrethroids

Cyfluthrin and cyhalothrin are potent fluorinated pyrethroid insecticides, widely used due to their high chemical stability and lipophilicity; however, their environmental persistence and accumulation in non-target organisms raise significant ecological and toxicological concerns. In this study, a newly isolated strain, Bacillus sp. MFK14, from a garden soil microbial consortium, was employed to biodegrade β-cyfluthrin (BCF) and λ-cyhalothrin (LCH). ^19F-NMR analysis confirmed that both pyrethroids were susceptible to microbial degradation, and GC-MS profiling revealed multiple intermediate metabolites, indicating active transformation pathways. Complete degradation of BCF and LCH was achieved within 48 hours at 30 °C, and the detection of fluoride ions and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as end-products suggests a shared defluorination pathway despite their differing fluorination patterns. The involvement of cytochrome P450 enzymes in the degradation process was supported by inhibition studies using 1-aminobenzotriazole (1-ABT), and genomic analysis revealed a CYPome comprising 23 cytochrome P450 variants with significant homology to known bacterial enzymes implicated in xenobiotic degradation. Collectively, these results demonstrate the potential of Bacillus sp. MFK14 as a promising biocatalyst for the sustainable bioremediation of fluorinated pyrethroid contaminants.