Atrazine is a broad-leaf, pre-emergence herbicide. Eighty million pounds are applied to soils annually in the United States, more than any other herbicide. Atrazine is the leading member of a class of triazine ring-containing herbicides that includes simazine and terbuthylazine. Atrazine has been found to be less biodegradable than other less substituted s-triazine ring compounds with a half-life ranging from 1 week to 1 year in different soils. The Triazine Metapathway Map contains additional information on triazine metabolism. A number of different bacteria have been identified that are capable of metabolizing atrazine to ammonia and carbon dioxide.
This pathway is used to demonstrate microbial biodegrative diversity. The organisms which are known to carry out each reaction of this pathway are listed. If an organism is not listed for a reaction, the organism(s) listed for the preceding reaction(s) also carry it out. Other, yet unstudied, organisms may also carry out each reaction. This diversity is also present in most other pathways, even if not specifically shown.
The following is a text-format atrazine degradation pathway map. Organisms which can initiate the pathway are given, but other organisms may also carry out later steps. Follow the links for more information on compounds or reactions.
Graphical Map (6k) | Graphical Map (13k)
Atrazine Atrazine Atrazine
Pseudomonas sp. ADP Rhodococcus spp. Rhodococcus spp.
Ralstonia sp. M91-3 NI86/21, TE1 NI86/21, TE1
Clavibacter sp. Pseudomonas spp. Pseudomonas spp.
Agrobacterium sp. J14a 192, 194 192, 194
Alcaligenes sp. SG1 Streptomyces sp. PS1/5 Streptomyces sp. PS1/5
| | |
| atrazine | atrazine |
| monooxygenase | monooxygenase |
atrazine | | |
chloro- | | |
hydrolase | v v
| Deisopropylatrazine Deethylatrazine
| Rhodococcus Nocardia Pseudomonas
| corallinus sp.--+ spp. 192, 194
v NRRLB-15444R | |
Hydroxyatrazine | | |
| | | |
| | | |
hydroxy- | s-triazine | deiso- | deethyl- |
atrazine | hydrolase | propyl- | atrazine |
ethylamino- | | atrazine | mono- |
hydrolase | | mono- | oxygenase |
| | oxygenase | |
| | | |
v v | v
N-Isopropylammelide Deisopropyl- +----->Deisopropyl-
| hydroxyatrazine deethylatrazine
| | Pseudomonas sp. NRRLB-12227
| | |
N-isopropyl- | deisopropyl- | |
ammelide | hydroxy- | |
isopropyl- | atrazine | s-triazine |
amino- | amino- | hydrolase |
hydrolase | hydrolase | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| v v
| 2,4-Dihydroxy- 2-Chloro-4-
| 6-(N'-ethyl)- hydroxy-6-amino-
| amino-1,3,5-triazine 1,3,5-triazine
| Pseudomonas sp. NRRLB-12228 |
| | |
| | | hydroxychloro-
| | | atrazine
| 2,4-dihydroxy- | | ethylamino-
| 6-(N'-ethyl)- | | hydrolase
| amino-1,3,5- | |
| triazine | |
| aminohydrolase | 2,4-Dihydroxy-6-
| | amino-1,3,5-triazine
| | |
| | |
+------------+-----------+ | N-isopropyl-
| | ammelide
| | isopropylamino-
| | hydrolase
v |
Cyanuric acid <---------------------------+
|
|
|
|
|
v
to the
Cyanuric acid Pathway
Page Author(s): Yuemo Zeng, Colin L. Sweeney, Stephen Stephens, Prasad Kotharu and Michael Turnbull
April 25, 2008 Contact Us
© 2008, University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. http://umbbd.msi.umn.edu/atr/atr_map.html