Atrazine Metabolism by Nocardia: Elucidation of Initial Pathway and Synthesis of Potential Metabolites

The metabolism of atrazine herbicide by Nocardia, a soil bacterium previously shown to degrade the herbicide to 4-amino-2-chloro-1,3,5-triazine, has been studied. The primary route of the metabolism appeared to be N-dealkylation and was similar to that found in several fungi. The data suggested that the isolated dealkylated metabolites were precursors of 4-amino-2-chloro-1,3,5-triazine. The supposed metabolites 4-alkylamino-2-chloro-1,3,5-triazines were synthesized but there was not direct proof of their involvement in the degradation process.