The enzymatic degradation of carbofuran derivative, namely, 2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-7- benzofuranyl methylcarbamate was studied in a strain of the bacterium Pseudomonas cepacia(Fsv), isolated from a soil that had undergone successive treatments for many years with this insecticide. So, approximately 84 % of the activity was extracellular and 16 % was localized in the insoluble fraction after cell lysis. It is found that the maximum enzymatic activity was obtained at pH 8.5 and 40 °C. It is reached 128 and 112 μmol mL-1 min-1 at 4 g of ammonium sulphate as sole source of nitrogen and 4.5 g of glucose as sole source of carbon, respectively. It is found also that the enzymatic activity reaches 116 μmol mL-1 min-1 with the presence of mixture of two sources. At the same time, the biomass linked to enzymatic activity increased to reach 2.42, 2.12 and 2.61, respectively.
