When I pointed out that the fluvalinate (e.g. Apistan®) molecule
contains fluorine covalently bonded to carbon, and vaguely predicted
trouble on the general ground that this is a very unusual thing in nature,
the following had not emerged:

>Biochemistry: Biosynthesis of an organofluorine molecule
>D O'HAGAN, C SCHAFFRATH, S L COBB, J T G HAMILTON & C D MURPHY
>http://www.nature.com/nlink/v416/n6878/abs/416279a_fs.html

        The title of this new paper is very significant: it reinforces the
point that organic compounds of F are very rare in nature, so metabolism of
such compounds may well be extremely rare.
        The precedent for this is of course the widespread failure to
metabolise organic compounds of chlorine, which is a main reason for the
notorious bioaccumulations of organochlorines e.g. DDT.    The same Barry
Commoner who has just lately published in Harpers a superb article on
gene-tampering predicted around 1960 this type of problem, just because the
carbon-chlorine bond is so rare in nature.  Well, the carbon-fluorine bond
is even rarer.

R