Metabolic pathway of tebuconazole by soil fungus Cunninghamella elegans ATCC36112

Tebuconazole is the most widely used fungicide in agriculture. Due to its long half-life, tebuconazole residues can be found in the environment media such as in soil and water bodies. Here, the metabolic pathway of tebuconazole was studied in Cunninghamella elegans ( C. elegans ). Approximately 98% of tebuconazole was degraded within 7 days, accompanied by the accumulation of five metabolites. The structures of the metabolites were completely or tentatively identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). To identify representative oxidative enzymes that may be involved in the metabolic process, treatment with piperonyl butoxide (PB) and methimazole (MZ) was performed. PB had a strong inhibitory effect on the metabolic reactions, while MZ had a weak inhibitory effect. The results suggest that cytochrome P450 (CYP) and flavin-dependent monooxygenase are involved in the metabolism of tebuconazole. Based on the results, we propose a metabolic pathway for the fungal metabolism of tebuconazole. Data are of interest to gain insight into the toxicological effects of tebuconazole and for tebuconazole bioremediation.