Abstract
PERSISTENT chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides have been used throughout the world for the past two decades, and their residues or metabolites are accumulating in soil and water. There are several reports of microorganisms converting 1,1,1,trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethane (DDT) to 1,1,dichloro-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethane (TDE)1–7. Other reports indicate that TDE is the principal product of DDT metabolism in aquatic environments8,9. There are, however, no reports of the metabolism of DDT by aquatic microorganisms in pure culture. Here we describe a study of the metabolism of DDT by microorganisms isolated from water and bottom silt of Lake Michigan and related water systems.
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MATSUMURA, F., PATIL, K. & BOUSH, G. DDT metabolized by Microorganisms from Lake Michigan. Nature 230, 325–326 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/230325a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/230325a0
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