Microbial elimination of carbamate pesticides: specific strains and promising enzymes.

Carbamate pesticides are widely used in the environment, and compared with other pesticides in nature, they are easier to decompose and have less durability. However, due to the improper use of carbamate pesticides, some nontarget organisms still may be harmed. To this end, it is necessary to investigate effective removal or elimination methods for carbamate pesticides. Current effective elimination methods could be divided into four categories: physical removal, chemical reaction, biological degradation, and enzymatic degradation. Physical removal primarily includes elution, adsorption, and supercritical fluid extraction. The chemical reaction includes Fenton oxidation, photo-radiation, and net electron reduction. Biological degradation is an environmental-friendly manner, which achieves degradation by the metabolism of microorganisms. Enzymatic degradation is more promising due to its high substrate specificity and catalytic efficacy. All in all, this review primarily summarizes the property of carbamate pesticides and the traditional degradation methods as well as the promising biological elimination. KEY POINTS: • The occurrence and toxicity of carbamate pesticides were shown. • Biological degradation strains against carbamate pesticides were presented. • Promising enzymes responsible for the degradation of carbamates were discussed.