Degradation of the antifouling compound Irgarol 1051 by manganese peroxidase from the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Irgarol 1051 (2-methylthio-4-tert-butylamino-6-cyclopropylamino-s-triazine), a derivative of s-triazine herbicide, is an antifouling compound used as an alternative to organotins. The compound is highly persistent and is known to be biodegraded only by the white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporiunt. We used partially purified manganese peroxidase (MnP) prepared from P. chrysosporium to evaluate its capacity to degrade Irgarol 1051. MnP degraded Irgarol 1051 to two major products, one identified as M1 (identical to GS26575, 2-methylthio-4-tert-butylamino-6-amino-striazine) and the other not identified but with same mass spectrum as M1 and a different ultraviolet spectrum. This report clearly demonstrates that this ligninolytic enzyme is involved in the degradation of Irgarol 1051. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.