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Yu Y, Trottmann NF, Schärer MR, Fenner K, Robinson SL. Substrate promiscuity of xenobiotic-transforming hydrolases from stream biofilms impacted by treated wastewater. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 256:121593. [PMID: 38631239 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Organic contaminants enter aquatic ecosystems from various sources, including wastewater treatment plant effluent. Freshwater biofilms play a major role in the removal of organic contaminants from receiving water bodies, but knowledge of the molecular mechanisms driving contaminant biotransformations in complex stream biofilm (periphyton) communities remains limited. Previously, we demonstrated that biofilms in experimental flume systems grown at higher ratios of treated wastewater (WW) to stream water displayed an increased biotransformation potential for a number of organic contaminants. We identified a positive correlation between WW percentage and biofilm biotransformation rates for the widely-used insect repellent, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) and a number of other wastewater-borne contaminants with hydrolyzable moieties. Here, we conducted deep shotgun sequencing of flume biofilms and identified a positive correlation between WW percentage and metagenomic read abundances of DEET hydrolase (DH) homologs. To test the causality of this association, we constructed a targeted metagenomic library of DH homologs from flume biofilms. We screened our complete metagenomic library for activity with four different substrates, including DEET, and a subset thereof with 183 WW-related organic compounds. The majority of active hydrolases in the metagenomic library preferred aliphatic and aromatic ester substrates while, remarkably, only a single reference enzyme was capable of DEET hydrolysis. Of the 626 total enzyme-substrate combinations tested, approximately 5% were active enzyme-substrate pairs. Metagenomic DH family homologs revealed a broad substrate promiscuity spanning 22 different compounds when summed across all enzymes tested. We biochemically characterized the most promiscuous and active enzymes identified based on metagenomic analysis from uncultivated Rhodospirillaceae and Planctomycetaceae. In addition to characterizing new DH family enzymes, we exemplified a framework for linking metagenome-guided hypothesis generation with experimental validation. Overall, this study expands the scope of known enzymatic contaminant biotransformations for metagenomic hydrolases from WW-receiving stream biofilm communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaochun Yu
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Niklas Ferenc Trottmann
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Milo R Schärer
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Fenner
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Serina L Robinson
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
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Yang X, Shi Y, Ying G, Li M, He Z, Shu L. Cooperation among nitrifying microorganisms promotes the irreversible biotransformation of sulfamonomethoxine. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 923:171395. [PMID: 38447730 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms, including AOA (ammonia-oxidizing archaea), AOB (ammonia-oxidizing bacteria), and Comammox (complete ammonia oxidization) Nitrospira, have been reported to possess the capability for the biotransformation of sulfonamide antibiotics. However, given that nitrifying microorganisms coexist and operate as communities in the nitrification process, it is surprising that there is a scarcity of studies investigating how their interactions would affect the biotransformation of sulfonamide antibiotics. This study aims to investigate the sulfamonomethoxine (SMM) removal efficiency and mechanisms among pure cultures of phylogenetically distinct nitrifiers and their combinations. Our findings revealed that AOA demonstrated the highest SMM removal efficiency and rate among the pure cultures, followed by Comammox Nitrospira, NOB, and AOB. However, the biotransformation of SMM by AOA N. gargensis is reversible, and the removal efficiency significantly decreased from 63.84 % at 167 h to 26.41 % at 807 h. On the contrary, the co-culture of AOA and NOB demonstrated enhanced and irreversible SMM removal efficiency compared to AOA alone. Furthermore, the presence of NOB altered the SMM biotransformation of AOA by metabolizing TP202 differently, possibly resulting from reduced nitrite accumulation. This study offers novel insights into the potential application of nitrifying communities for the removal of sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) in engineered ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueqin Yang
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Yijing Shi
- SCNU Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
| | - Guangguo Ying
- SCNU Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Mengyuan Li
- SCNU Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Zhili He
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Longfei Shu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
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3
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Liang C, Svendsen SB, de Jonge N, Carvalho PN, Nielsen JL, Bester K. Eat seldom is better than eat frequently: Pharmaceuticals degradation kinetics, enantiomeric profiling and microorganisms in moving bed biofilm reactors are affected by feast famine cycle times. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 468:133739. [PMID: 38401210 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Feast-famine (FF) regimes improved the removal of recalcitrant pharmaceuticals in moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs), but the optimal FF cycle remained unresolved. The effects of FF cycle time on the removal of bulk substrates (organic carbon and nitrogen) and trace pharmaceuticals by MBBR are systematically evaluated in this study. The feast to famine ratio was fixed to 1:2 to keep the same loading rate, but the time for the FF cycles varied from 18 h to 288 h. The MBBR adapted to the longest FF cycle time (288 h equaling 48 × HRT) resulted in significantly higher degradation rates (up to +183%) for 12 out of 28 pharmaceuticals than a continuously fed (non-FF) reactor. However, other FF cycle times (18, 36, 72 and 144 h) only showed a significant up-regulation for 2-3 pharmaceuticals compared to the non-FF reactor. Enantioselective degradation of metoprolol and propranolol occurred in the second phase of a two phase degradation, which was different for the longer FF cycle time. N-oxidation and N-demethylation pathways of tramadol and venlafaxine differed across the FF cycle time suggestin the FF cycle time varied the predominant transformation pathways of pharmaceuticals. The abundance of bacteria in the biofilms varied considerably between different FF cycle times, which possibly caused the biofilm to remove more recalcitrant bulk organic C and pharmaceuticals under long cycle times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuanzhou Liang
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde 4000, Denmark
| | - Sif B Svendsen
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde 4000, Denmark
| | - Nadieh de Jonge
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Pedro N Carvalho
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde 4000, Denmark
| | - Jeppe Lund Nielsen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Kai Bester
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde 4000, Denmark.
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4
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Xu Y, Liu Y, Liang C, Guo W, Ngo HH, Peng L. Favipiravir biotransformation by a side-stream partial nitritation sludge: Transformation mechanisms, pathways and toxicity evaluation. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 353:141580. [PMID: 38430943 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Information on biotransformation of antivirals in the side-stream partial nitritation (PN) process was limited. In this study, a side-stream PN sludge was adopted to investigate favipiravir biotransformation under controlled ammonium and pH levels. Results showed that free nitrous acid (FNA) was an important factor that inhibited ammonia oxidation and the cometabolic biodegradation of favipiravir induced by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB). The removal efficiency of favipiravir reached 12.6% and 35.0% within 6 days at the average FNA concentrations of 0.07 and 0.02 mg-N L-1, respectively. AOB-induced cometabolism was the sole contributing mechanism to favipiravir removal, excluding AOB-induced metabolism and heterotrophic bacteria-induced biodegradation. The growth of Escherichia coli was inhibited by favipiravir, while the AOB-induced cometabolism facilitated the alleviation of the antimicrobial activities with the formed transformation products. The biotransformation pathways were proposed based on the roughly identified structures of transformation products, which mainly involved hydroxylation, nitration, dehydrogenation and covalent bond breaking under enzymatic conditions. The findings would provide insights on enriching AOB abundance and enhancing AOB-induced cometabolism under FNA stress when targeting higher removal of antivirals during the side-stream wastewater treatment processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifeng Xu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Yaxuan Liu
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Chuanzhou Liang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Wenshan Guo
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2007, Australia
| | - Huu Hao Ngo
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2007, Australia
| | - Lai Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, 430070, China.
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5
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Guo X, Ong WM, Zhao HP, Lai CY. Enzyme-induced reactive oxygen species trigger oxidative degradation of sulfamethoxazole within a methanotrophic biofilm. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 253:121330. [PMID: 38387268 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Although microorganisms carrying copper-containing membrane-bound monooxygenase (CuMMOs), such as particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) and ammonia monooxygenase (AMO), have been extensively documented for their capability to degrade organic micropollutants (OMPs), the underlying reactive mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we for the first time demonstrate biogenic reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important roles in the degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a representative OMP, within a methane-fed biofilm. Highly-efficient and consistent SMX biodegradation was achieved in a CH4-based membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), manifesting a remarkable SMX removal rate of 1210.6 ± 39.0 μg·L-1·d-1. Enzyme inhibition and ROS clearance experiments confirmed the significant contribution of ROS, which were generated through the catalytic reaction of pMMO and AMO enzymes, in facilitating SMX degradation. Through a combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis, and transformation product detection, we elucidated that the ROS primarily targeted the aniline group in the SMX molecule, inducing the formation of aromatic radicals and its progressive mineralization. In contrast, the isoxazole-ring was not susceptible to electrophilic ROS attacks, leading to accumulation of 3-amino-5-methylisoxazole (3A5MI). Furthermore, microbiological analysis suggested Methylosarcina (a methanotroph) and Candidatus Nitrosotenuis (an ammonia-oxidizing archaea) collaborated as the SMX degraders, who carried highly conserved and expressed CuMMOs (pMMO and AMO) for ROS generation, thereby triggering the oxidative degradation of SMX. This study deciphers SMX biodegradation through a fresh perspective of free radical chemistry, and concurrently providing a theoretical framework for the advancement of environmental biotechnologies aimed at OMP removal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Guo
- MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 310058
| | - Weng Mun Ong
- MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 310058
| | - He-Ping Zhao
- MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 310058
| | - Chun-Yu Lai
- MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 310058.
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6
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Chen B, Li F, Lin Y, Yang L, Wei W, Ni BJ, Chen X. Degradation of Chloroquine by Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria: Performance, Mechanisms, and Associated Impact on N 2O Production. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:4662-4669. [PMID: 38422482 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c09928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Since the mass production and extensive use of chloroquine (CLQ) would lead to its inevitable discharge, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) might play a key role in the management of CLQ. Despite the reported functional versatility of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) that mediate the first step for biological nitrogen removal at WWTP (i.e., partial nitrification), their potential capability to degrade CLQ remains to be discovered. Therefore, with the enriched partial nitrification sludge, a series of dedicated batch tests were performed in this study to verify the performance and mechanisms of CLQ biodegradation under the ammonium conditions of mainstream wastewater. The results showed that AOB could degrade CLQ in the presence of ammonium oxidation activity, but the capability was limited by the amount of partial nitrification sludge (∼1.1 mg/L at a mixed liquor volatile suspended solids concentration of 200 mg/L). CLQ and its biodegradation products were found to have no significant effect on the ammonium oxidation activity of AOB while the latter would promote N2O production through the AOB denitrification pathway, especially at relatively low DO levels (≤0.5 mg-O2/L). This study provided valuable insights into a more comprehensive assessment of the fate of CLQ in the context of wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bokai Chen
- College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Fuyi Li
- College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Yinghui Lin
- College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Linyan Yang
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Wei Wei
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2007, Australia
| | - Bing-Jie Ni
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2007, Australia
| | - Xueming Chen
- College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
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Xu Y, Wang X, Gu Y, Liang C, Guo W, Ngo HH, Peng L. Optimizing ciprofloxacin removal through regulations of trophic modes and FNA levels in a moving bed biofilm reactor performing sidestream partial nitritation. WATER RESEARCH X 2024; 22:100216. [PMID: 38831973 PMCID: PMC11144728 DOI: 10.1016/j.wroa.2024.100216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
The performance of partial nitritation (PN)-moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) in removal of antibiotics in the sidestream wastewater has not been investigated so far. In this work, the removal of ciprofloxacin was assessed under varying free nitrous acid (FNA) levels and different trophic modes. For the first time, a positive correlation was observed between ciprofloxacin removal and FNA levels, either in the autotrophic PN-MBBR or in the mixotrophic PN-MBBR, mainly ascribed to the FNA-stimulating effect on heterotrophic bacteria (HB)-induced biodegradation. The maximum ciprofloxacin removal efficiency (∼98 %) and removal rate constant (0.021 L g-1 SS h-1) were obtained in the mixotrophic PN-MBBR at an average FNA level of 0.056 mg-N L-1, which were 5.8 and 51.2 times higher than the corresponding values in the autotrophic PN-MBBR at 0 mg FNA-N L-1. Increasing FNA from 0.006 to 0.056 mg-N L-1 would inhibit ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB)-induced cometabolism and metabolism from 10.2 % and 6.9 % to 6.2 % and 6.4 %, respectively, while HB-induced cometabolism and metabolism increased from 31.2 % and 22.7 % to 41.9 % and 34.5 %, respectively. HB-induced cometabolism became the predominant biodegradation pathway (75.9 %-85.8 %) in the mixotrophic mode. Less antimicrobial biotransformation products without the piperazine or fluorine were newly identified to propose potential degradation pathways, corresponding to microbial-induced metabolic types and FNA levels. This work shed light on enhancing antibiotic removal via regulating both FNA accumulation and organic carbon addition in the PN-MBBR process treating sidestream wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifeng Xu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xi Wang
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Ying Gu
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Chuanzhou Liang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Wenshan Guo
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2007, Australia
| | - Huu Hao Ngo
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2007, Australia
| | - Lai Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
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8
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Zhang Z, Xing W, Lu J, Gao X, Jia F, Yao H. Nitrogen removal and nitrous oxide emission in the partial nitritation/anammox process at different reflux ratios. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 906:167520. [PMID: 37788770 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
The partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process has been widely used in wastewater treatment owing to its notable advantages, including a low aeration rate and the non-requirement of an additional carbon source. In practical implementation, nitrite accumulation affects the nitrogen-removal efficiency and the amount of N2O released during the PN/A process. By implementing wastewater reflux, the nitrite concentration can be decreased, thereby achieving a balance between the nitrogen-removal efficiency and N2O release. This study conducted the CANON process with varying reflux ratios of 0 to 300 % and ~300 mg/L ammonium in the influent. The highest removal efficiency of ammonium and total nitrogen (98.2 ± 0.8 and 77.8 ± 2.3 %, respectively) could be achieved at a reflux ratio of 200 %. Further, a reflux ratio of 200 % led to the lowest N2O emission factor (2.21 %), with a 31.74 % reduction in N2O emission compared to the process without refluxing. Additionally, the reactor at a reflux ratio of 200 % presented the highest relative abundance of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (30.98 %) and the lowest proportion of ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (9.57 %). This study aimed to elucidate the impact of the reflux ratio on the nitrogen-removal efficiency of the CANON process and to theoretically explain the influence of different reflux ratios on N2O release. These findings provide a theoretical framework for enhancing the nitrogen-removal efficiency and mitigating carbon emissions in practical applications of the CANON process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zexi Zhang
- Beijing International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Water Pollution Control Techniques for Antibiotics and Resistance Genes, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, School of Environment, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Wei Xing
- Beijing International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Water Pollution Control Techniques for Antibiotics and Resistance Genes, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, School of Environment, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China.
| | - Jia Lu
- Beijing International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Water Pollution Control Techniques for Antibiotics and Resistance Genes, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, School of Environment, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Xinyu Gao
- Beijing International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Water Pollution Control Techniques for Antibiotics and Resistance Genes, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, School of Environment, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Fangxu Jia
- Beijing International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Water Pollution Control Techniques for Antibiotics and Resistance Genes, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, School of Environment, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Hong Yao
- Beijing International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Water Pollution Control Techniques for Antibiotics and Resistance Genes, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, School of Environment, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China
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Ma Y, Ma M, Palomo A, Sun Y, Modrzynski JJ, Aamand J, Zheng Y. Biodegradation of trace sulfonamide antibiotics accelerated by substrates across oxic to anoxic conditions during column infiltration experiments. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 242:120193. [PMID: 37327547 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Frequent occurrence of trace organic contaminants in aquatic environments, such as sulfonamide antibiotics in rivers receiving reclaimed water, is concerning. Natural attenuation by soil and sediment is increasingly relied upon. In the case of riverbank filtration for water purification, the reliability of antibiotic attenuation has been called into question due to incomplete understanding of their degradation processes. This study investigated influence of substrates and redox evolution along infiltration path on biotransformation of sulfonamides. Eight sand columns (length: 28 cm) with a riverbed sediment layer at 3-8 cm were fed by groundwater-sourced tap water spiked with 1 μg/L of sulfadiazine (SDZ), sulfamethazine (SMZ), and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) each, with or without amendments of dissolved organic carbon (5 mg-C/L of 1:1 yeast and humics) or ammonium (5 mg-N/L). Two flow rates were tested over 120 days (0.5 mL/min and 0.1 mL/min). Iron-reducing conditions persisted in all columns for 27 days during the initial high flow period due to respiration of sediment organics, evolving to less reducing conditions until the subsequent low flow period to resume more reducing conditions. With surplus substrates, the spatial and temporal patterns of redox conditions differentiated among columns. The removal of SDZ and SMZ in effluents was usually low (15 ± 11%) even with carbon addition (14 ± 9%), increasing to 33 ± 23% with ammonium addition. By contrast, SMX removal was higher and more consistent among columns (46 ± 21%), with the maximum of 64 ± 9% under iron-reducing conditions. When sulfonamide removal was compared between columns for the same redox zones during infiltration, their enhancements were always associated with the availability of dissolved or particulate substrates, suggesting co-metabolism. Manipulation of the exposure time to optimal redox conditions with substrate amendments, rather than to simply prolong the overall residence time, is recommended for nature-based solutions to tackle target antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunjie Ma
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement and Early Warning Technology for Urban Environmental Health Risks, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Meng Ma
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Alejandro Palomo
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yuqin Sun
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Jakub J Modrzynski
- Department of Geochemistry, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen 1350, Denmark
| | - Jens Aamand
- Department of Geochemistry, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen 1350, Denmark
| | - Yan Zheng
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement and Early Warning Technology for Urban Environmental Health Risks, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China.
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10
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Chen W, Wang B, Wang Y, Li J. Understanding the cometabolic degradation of sulfadiazine by an enriched ammonia oxidizing bacteria culture from both extracellular and intracellular perspectives. CHEMOSPHERE 2023:139244. [PMID: 37330061 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotics are widely used drugs in the world and pose serious threats to ecosystems and human health. Although it has been reported that ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) can cometabolize antibiotics, little has been reported on how AOB would respond to the exposure of antibiotics on extracellular and enzymatic levels, as well as the impact of antibiotics on the bioactivity of AOB. Therefore, in this study, a typical antibiotic, sulfadiazine (SDZ), was selected, and a series short-term batch tests using enriched AOB sludge were conducted to investigate the intracellular and extracellular responses of AOB along the cometabolic degradation process of SDZ. The results showed the cometabolic degradation of AOB made the main contribution to SDZ removal. When the enriched AOB sludge was exposed to SDZ, ammonium oxidation rate, ammonia monooxygenase activity, adenosine triphosphate concentration and dehydrogenases activity were negatively affected. The amoA gene abundance increased 1.5 folds within 24 h, which may enhance the uptake and utilization of substrates and maintain stable metabolic activity. In the tests with and without ammonium, the concentration of total EPS increased from 264.9 to 231.1 mg/gVSS to 607.7 and 538.2 mg/gVSS, respectively, under the exposure to SDZ, which was mainly contributed by the increase of proteins in tightly bound extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and polysacharides in tightly bound EPS and soluble microbial products. The proportion of tryptophan-like protein and humic acid-like organics in EPS also increased. Moreover, SDZ stress stimulated the secretion of three quorum sensing signal molecules, C4-HSL (from 140.3 to 164.9 ng/L), 3OC6-HSL (from 17.8 to 42.4 ng/L) and C8-HSL (from 35.8 to 95.9 ng/L) in the enriched AOB sludge. Among them, C8-HSL may be a key signal molecule that promoted the secretion of EPS. The findings of this study could shed more light on the cometabolic degradation of antibiotics by AOB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiping Chen
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Bingzheng Wang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China.
| | - Yaqing Wang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Ji Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China; Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Energy and Carbon Reduction Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China; Jiangsu College of Water Treatment Technology and Material Collaborative Innovation Center, Suzhou, 215009, China.
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11
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Vega MAP, Scholes RC, Brady AR, Daly RA, Narrowe AB, Vanzin GF, Wrighton KC, Sedlak DL, Sharp JO. Methane-Oxidizing Activity Enhances Sulfamethoxazole Biotransformation in a Benthic Constructed Wetland Biomat. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:7240-7253. [PMID: 37099683 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c09314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Ammonia monooxygenase and analogous oxygenase enzymes contribute to pharmaceutical biotransformation in activated sludge. In this study, we hypothesized that methane monooxygenase can enhance pharmaceutical biotransformation within the benthic, diffuse periphytic sediments (i.e., "biomat") of a shallow, open-water constructed wetland. To test this hypothesis, we combined field-scale metatranscriptomics, porewater geochemistry, and methane gas fluxes to inform microcosms targeting methane monooxygenase activity and its potential role in pharmaceutical biotransformation. In the field, sulfamethoxazole concentrations decreased within surficial biomat layers where genes encoding for the particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) were transcribed by a novel methanotroph classified as Methylotetracoccus. Inhibition microcosms provided independent confirmation that methane oxidation was mediated by the pMMO. In these same incubations, sulfamethoxazole biotransformation was stimulated proportional to aerobic methane-oxidizing activity and exhibited negligible removal in the absence of methane, in the presence of methane and pMMO inhibitors, and under anoxia. Nitrate reduction was similarly enhanced under aerobic methane-oxidizing conditions with rates several times faster than for canonical denitrification. Collectively, our results provide convergent in situ and laboratory evidence that methane-oxidizing activity can enhance sulfamethoxazole biotransformation, with possible implications for the combined removal of nitrogen and trace organic contaminants in wetland sediments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A P Vega
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Rachel C Scholes
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Adam R Brady
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Rebecca A Daly
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Adrienne B Narrowe
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Gary F Vanzin
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Kelly C Wrighton
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - David L Sedlak
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Jonathan O Sharp
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Hydrologic Science and Engineering Program, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
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12
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Wang D, Ma Q, Lin H, Zhou J, Yuan S, Ma B, Bai Y, Qu J. Enhancement of micropollutant biotransformation by adding manganese sand in constructed wetlands. Heliyon 2023; 9:e15092. [PMID: 37089304 PMCID: PMC10119567 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent investigations have shown that the addition of manganese (Mn) sand to constructed wetlands (i.e., Mn-amended CWs) can improve the performance of organic micropollutants (MPs) removal. In addition to the direct oxidation and adsorption of Mn oxides, the indirect role of Mn oxides in MP biotransformation is crucial to the removal of MPs but has seldom been referred to. Herein, we constructed lab-scale CWs with or without the addition of natural Mn sand (∼35% Mn oxides) to decipher the influence of Mn oxides on the biotransformation of the six selected MPs which commonly existed in the wastewater. The experimental results showed that the addition of Mn sand to CWs can improve the removal of MPs (8.48% atrazine, 13.16% atenolol, and 6.27% sulfamethoxazole [pairwise Wilcoxon test p < 0.05]). Combining the detection of transformation products and metagenomic sequencing, we found that the enhanced removal of atrazine in the Mn-amended CWs was mainly due to the bioaugmented hydroxylation process. The enrichment of biotransformation-related genes and associated microbes of atenolol and sulfamethoxazole in Mn-amended CWs indicated that the addition of Mn sand to CWs can strengthen the biotransformation of MPs. Furthermore, we found that these MP-biodegrading microbes were widely present in the full-scale CWs. Overall, our research provides fundamental information and insights for further application of Mn-amended CWs in MP removal.
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Han P, Rios-Miguel AB, Tang X, Yu Y, Zhou LJ, Hou L, Liu M, Sun D, Jetten MSM, Welte CU, Men Y, Lücker S. Benzimidazole fungicide biotransformation by comammox Nitrospira bacteria: Transformation pathways and associated proteomic responses. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 445:130558. [PMID: 36495641 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Benzimidazole fungicides are frequently detected in aquatic environments and pose a serious health risk. Here, we investigated the metabolic capacity of the recently discovered complete ammonia-oxidizing (comammox) Nitrospira inopinata and kreftii to transform a representative set of benzimidazole fungicides (i.e., benzimidazole, albendazole, carbendazim, fuberidazole, and thiabendazole). Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea, as well as the canonical nitrite-oxidizing Nitrospira exhibited no or minor biotransformation activity towards all the five benzimidazole fungicides. In contrast, the investigated comammox bacteria actively transformed all the five benzimidazole fungicides, except for thiabendazole. The identified transformation products indicated hydroxylation, S-oxidation, and glycosylation as the major biotransformation pathways of benzimidazole fungicides. We speculated that these reactions were catalyzed by comammox-specific ammonia monooxygenase, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, and glycosylases, respectively. Interestingly, the exposure to albendazole enhanced the expression of the antibiotic resistance gene acrB of Nitrospira inopinata, suggesting that some benzimidazole fungicides could act as environmental stressors that trigger cellular defense mechanisms. Altogether, this study demonstrated the distinct substrate specificity of comammox bacteria towards benzimidazole fungicides and implies their significant roles in the biotransformation of these fungicides in nitrifying environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Han
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China.
| | - Ana B Rios-Miguel
- Department of Microbiology, RIBES, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Xiufeng Tang
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yaochun Yu
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Li-Jun Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
| | - Lijun Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Min Liu
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Dongyao Sun
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; School of Geography Science and Geomatics Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Mike S M Jetten
- Department of Microbiology, RIBES, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Cornelia U Welte
- Department of Microbiology, RIBES, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Yujie Men
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States.
| | - Sebastian Lücker
- Department of Microbiology, RIBES, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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14
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Su Q, Huang S, Zhang H, Wei Z, Ng HY. Abiotic transformations of sulfamethoxazole by hydroxylamine, nitrite and nitric oxide during wastewater treatment: Kinetics, mechanisms and pH effects. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 444:130328. [PMID: 36402107 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Hydroxylamine (NH2OH), nitrite (NO2-) and nitric oxide (NO), intermediates enzymatically formed during biological nitrogen removal processes, can engage in chemical (abiotic) transformations of antibiotics. This study determined the kinetics, mechanisms and pathways of abiotic transformations of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) by NH2OH, NO2- and NO in a series of batch tests under different pH and oxygen conditions. While NH2OH was not able to directly transform SMX, NO2- (with HNO2 as the actual reactant) and NO can chemically transform SMX primarily through hydroxylation, nitration, deamination, nitrosation, cleavage of S-N, N-C and C-S bonds, and coupling reactions. There were substantial overlaps in transformation product formations during abiotic transformations by HNO2- and NO. The second order rate constants of SMX with NO2- and NO were determined in the range of 1.5 × 10-1 - 4.8 × 103 M-1 s-1 and 1.0 × 102 - 3.1 × 104 M-1 s-1, respectively, under varying pH (4 - 9) and anoxic or oxic conditions. Acidic pH significantly enhanced abiotic transformation kinetics, and facilitated nitration, nitrosation, and cleavage of S-N and N-C bonds. The findings advance our understanding of the fate of antibiotics during biological nitrogen removal, and highlight the role of enzymatically formed reactive nitrogen species in the antibiotic degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingxian Su
- National University of Singapore Environmental Research Institute, 5A Engineering Drive 1, 117411, Singapore; Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Shujuan Huang
- School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, 11 Fushun Road, Qingdao 266033, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- College of Resources and Environment, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan 610225, China
| | - Zongsu Wei
- Centre for Water Technology (WATEC), Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 36, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - How Yong Ng
- National University of Singapore Environmental Research Institute, 5A Engineering Drive 1, 117411, Singapore; Center for Water Research, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, 519087, China.
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15
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Li MY, Zhang RD, Lin YX, Li QW, Zhao QY, Zhao ZX, Ling ZM, Shu LF, Zhang M, Hu LX, Shi YJ, Ying GG. Biotransformation of sulfamonomethoxine in a granular sludge system: Pathways and mechanisms. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 313:137508. [PMID: 36493889 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The biotransformation of sulfamonomethoxine (SMM) was studied in an aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system to understand the role of sorption by microbial cells and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and the role of functional microbe/enzyme biodegradation. Biodegradation played a more important role than adsorption, while microbial cells covered with tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS) showed higher adsorption capacity than microbial cells themselves or microbial cells covered with both loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS) and TB-EPS. The binding tests between EPS and SMM and the spectroscopic analyses (3D-EEM, UV-Vis, and FTIR) were performed to obtain more information about the adsorption process. The data showed that SMM could interact with EPS by combining with aromatic protein compounds, fulvic acid-like substances, protein amide II, and nucleic acids. Batch tests with various substances showed that SMM removal rates were in an order of NH2OH (60.43 ± 2.21 μg/g SS) > NH4Cl (52.96 ± 0.30 μg/g SS) > NaNO3 (31.88 ± 1.20 μg/g SS) > NaNO2 (21.80 ± 0.42 μg/g SS). Hydroxylamine and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) favored SMM biotransformation and the hydroxylamine-mediated biotransformation of SMM was more effective than others. In addition, both ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and CYP450 were able to co-metabolize SMM. Analysis of UPLC-QTOF-MS indicated the biotransformation mechanisms, revealing that acetylation of arylamine, glucuronidation of sulfonamide, deamination, SO2 extrusion, and δ cleavage were the five major transformation pathways. The detection of TP202 in the hydroxylamine-fed Group C indicated a new biotransformation pathway through HAO. This study contributes to a better understanding of the biotransformation of SMM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Yuan Li
- Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Run-Dong Zhang
- Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yi-Xing Lin
- Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Qi-Wen Li
- Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Qiu-Yue Zhao
- Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Zong-Xi Zhao
- Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Zhong-Ming Ling
- National Center for Wetland Park Management and Conservation, Cuiheng, Zhongshan, 528437, China
| | - Long-Fei Shu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Min Zhang
- The Pearl River Hydraulic Research Institute, Pearl River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, Guangzhou, 510610, China
| | - Li-Xin Hu
- Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Yi-Jing Shi
- Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Guang-Guo Ying
- Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
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16
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Sauter D, Steuer A, Wasmund K, Hausmann B, Szewzyk U, Sperlich A, Gnirss R, Cooper M, Wintgens T. Microbial communities and processes in biofilters for post-treatment of ozonated wastewater treatment plant effluent. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 856:159265. [PMID: 36206900 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Ozonation is an established solution for organic micropollutant (OMP) abatement in tertiary wastewater treatment. Biofiltration is the most common process for the biological post-treatment step, which is generally required to remove undesired oxidation products from the reaction of ozone with water matrix compounds. This study comparatively investigates the effect of filter media on the removal of organic contaminants and on biofilm properties for biologically activated carbon (BAC) and anthracite biofilters. Biofilms were analysed in two pilot-scale filters that have been operated for >50,000 bed volumes as post-treatment for ozonated wastewater treatment plant effluent. In parallel, the removal performance of bulk organics and OMP, including differentiation of adsorption and biotransformation through sodium azide inhibition, were carried out in bench-scale filter columns filled with material from the pilot filters. The use of BAC instead of anthracite resulted in an improved removal of organic bulk parameters, dissolved oxygen, and OMP. The OMP removal observed in the BAC filter but not in the anthracite filter was based on adsorption for most of the investigated compounds. For valsartan, however, biotransformation was found to be the dominant pathway, indicating that conditions for biotransformation of certain OMP are better on BAC than on anthracite. Adenosine triphosphate analyses in the media-attached biofilms of the pilot filters showed that biomass concentrations in the BAC filter were significantly higher than in the anthracite filter. The microbial communities (16S rRNA gene sequencing) appeared to be similar with respect to the types of organisms occurring on both filter materials. Alpha diversity also exhibited little variation between filter media. Beta diversity analysis, however, revealed that filter media and bed depth substantially influenced the biofilm composition. In practice, the impact of filter media on biofilm properties and biotransformation processes should be considered for the design of biofilters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sauter
- Berliner Wasserbetriebe, Neue Juedenstr. 1, 10179 Berlin, Germany
| | - Andrea Steuer
- Chair of Environmental Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 1, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Kenneth Wasmund
- Division of Microbial Ecology, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, A-1030 Vienna, Austria; School of Biological Science, University of Portsmouth, King Henry Building, King Henry I St, PO12DY Portsmouth, UK
| | - Bela Hausmann
- Joint Microbiome Facility of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrich Szewzyk
- Chair of Environmental Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 1, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Regina Gnirss
- Berliner Wasserbetriebe, Neue Juedenstr. 1, 10179 Berlin, Germany
| | - Myriel Cooper
- Chair of Environmental Microbiology, Institute of Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 1, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas Wintgens
- RWTH Aachen University, Institut für Siedlungswasserwirtschaft, Mies-van-der-Rohe-Str. 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany; School of Life Sciences, Institute for Ecopreneurship, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Hofackerstrasse 40, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland.
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17
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Sharma P, Vishwakarma R, Varjani S, Gautam K, Gaur VK, Farooqui A, Sindhu R, Binod P, Awasthi MK, Chaturvedi P, Pandey A. Multi-omics approaches for remediation of bisphenol A: Toxicity, risk analysis, road blocks and research perspectives. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 215:114198. [PMID: 36063912 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this "plastic era" with the increased use of plastic in day today's life the accumulation of its degraded products like microplastics or plastic additives such as Bisphenol A(BPA) is also increasing. BPA is an endocrine-disrupting chemical used as a plasticizing agent in clear plastic, building materials, coatings, and epoxy resin. Several enzymes including laccases and lipases have been studied for the reduction of BPA toxicity. Over the decades of encountering these toxicants, microorganisms have evolved to degrade different classes of plastic additives. Since the degradation of BPA is a long process thus meta-omics approaches have been employed to identify the active microbiota and microbial dynamics involved in the mitigation of BPA. It is also necessary to investigate the impact of processing activities on transit of BPA in food items and to limit its entrance in food world. This review summarizes a comprehensive overview on BPA sources, toxicity, bio-based mitigation approaches along with a deeper understanding of multi-omics approaches for its reduction and risk analysis. Knowledge gaps and opportunities have been comprehensively compiled that would aid the state-of-the-art information in the available literature for the researchers to further address this issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Poonam Sharma
- Department of Bioengineering, Integral University, Lucknow, 226 026, India
| | - Reena Vishwakarma
- Department of Bioengineering, Integral University, Lucknow, 226 026, India
| | - Sunita Varjani
- Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gandhinagar, 382 010, India.
| | - Krishna Gautam
- Centre of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Lucknow, 226 021, India
| | - Vivek K Gaur
- Centre of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Lucknow, 226 021, India; School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, UNIST, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Alvina Farooqui
- Department of Bioengineering, Integral University, Lucknow, 226 026, India
| | - Raveendran Sindhu
- Department of Food Technology, T K M Institute of Technology, Kollam, 691 505, Kerala, India
| | - Parameswaran Binod
- CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Trivandrum, 695 019, Kerala, India
| | - Mukesh Kumar Awasthi
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A& F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, 712100, PR China
| | - Preeti Chaturvedi
- Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory, Environmental Toxicology Group, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR), Vishvigyan Bhawan, 31, M.G. Marg, Lucknow, 226001, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Ashok Pandey
- Centre of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Lucknow, 226 021, India; Centre for Innovation and Translational Research, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, 226 001, India; Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, 248 007, India
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18
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Zhao J, Fang S, Liu G, Qi W, Bai Y, Liu H, Qu J. Role of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in the removal of organic micropollutants during simulated riverbank filtration. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 226:119250. [PMID: 36274354 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Biodegradation plays an important role in the removal of organic micropollutants (OMPs) during riverbank filtration (RBF) for drinking water production. The ability of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM) to remove OMPs has attracted increasing attention. However, the distribution of AOM in RBF and its role in the degradation of OMPs remains unknown. In this study, the behavior of 128 selected OMPs and the distribution of AOM and their roles in the degradation of OMPs in RBF were explored by column and batch experiments simulating the first meter of the riverbank. The results showed that the selected OMPs were effectively removed (82/128 OMPs, >70% removal) primarily by biodegradation and partly by adsorption. Inefficiently removed OMPs tended to have low molecular weights, low log P, and contain secondary amides, secondary sulfonamides, secondary ketimines, and benzyls. In terms of the microbial communities, the relative abundance of AOM increased from 0.1%-0.2% (inlet-sand) to 5.3%-5.9% (outlet-sand), which was dominated by ammonia-oxidizing archaea whose relative abundance increased from 23%-72% (inlet-sand) to 97% (outlet-sand). Comammox accounted for 23%-64% in the inlet-sand and 1% in the outlet-sand. The abundances of AOM amoA genes kept stable in the inlet-sand of control columns, while decreased by 78% in the treatment columns, suggesting the inhibition effect of allylthiourea (ATU) on AOM. It is observed that AOM played an important role in the degradation of OMPs, where its inhibition led to the corresponding inhibition of 32 OMPs (5/32 were completely suppressed). In particular, OMPs with low molecular weights and containing primary amides, secondary amides, benzyls, and secondary sulfonamides were more likely to be removed by AOM. This study reveals the vital role of AOM in the removal of OMPs, deepens our understanding of the degradation of OMPs in RBF, and offers valuable insights into the physiochemical properties of OMPs and their AOM co-metabolic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Zhao
- Center for Water and Ecology, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Shangbiao Fang
- Center for Water and Ecology, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Gang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; Sanitary Engineering, Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5048, 2600GA, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Weixiao Qi
- Center for Water and Ecology, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Beijing Laboratory of Environmental Frontier Technologies, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yaohui Bai
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Huijuan Liu
- Center for Water and Ecology, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Beijing Laboratory of Environmental Frontier Technologies, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
| | - Jiuhui Qu
- Center for Water and Ecology, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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19
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Wu L, Jia C, Huang S, Yu K, Luo A, Peng Y. Nitrite oxidation in oxygen-deficient conditions during landfill leachate treatment. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 214:114090. [PMID: 35970379 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Until recently, all known nitrite oxidation occurred in oxygen-rich conditions but now the oxidation of nitrite into nitrate within a low oxygen or anoxic environment has been observed in the ocean. However, this phenomenon is rarely reported in wastewater treatments and its mechanism is unknown. In this study, the partial nitrification and nitrite oxidation were conducted in no enough oxygen in order to remove nitrogen from landfill leachate, save energy, and save money. The results show that the NH4+-N removal efficiency was 99.4%. During phase I of the anaerobic sequential batch reactor (ASBR), no change in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and ammonium were detected. The nitrite concentration decreased from 107 ± 3 mg/L to 0.16 mg/L during 96 h of oxygen- deficiency, while NO3--N increased from 152.5 ± 3 mg/L to 253.65 ± 3 mg/L. The main microorganisms involved in this reaction in the ASBR were Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacteria (NOB), including Nitrospira and Nitrolancea, their relative abundances were 3.56% and 0.13%, respectively. The major NOB (Nitrospira) were confirmed by the further metagenomic binning analysis. This finding shows that nitrite oxidation can occur in oxygen-deficient conditions with specific NOB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Wu
- Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment (Ministry of Education), Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China.
| | - Chunfang Jia
- Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment (Ministry of Education), Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Shan Huang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Ke Yu
- School of Environment and Energy, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Anteng Luo
- Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment (Ministry of Education), Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Centre of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China.
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20
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Vega MAP, Scholes RC, Brady AR, Daly RA, Narrowe AB, Bosworth LB, Wrighton KC, Sedlak DL, Sharp JO. Pharmaceutical Biotransformation is Influenced by Photosynthesis and Microbial Nitrogen Cycling in a Benthic Wetland Biomat. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:14462-14477. [PMID: 36197061 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c03566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In shallow, open-water engineered wetlands, design parameters select for a photosynthetic microbial biomat capable of robust pharmaceutical biotransformation, yet the contributions of specific microbial processes remain unclear. Here, we combined genome-resolved metatranscriptomics and oxygen profiling of a field-scale biomat to inform laboratory inhibition microcosms amended with a suite of pharmaceuticals. Our analyses revealed a dynamic surficial layer harboring oxic-anoxic cycling and simultaneous photosynthetic, nitrifying, and denitrifying microbial transcription spanning nine bacterial phyla, with unbinned eukaryotic scaffolds suggesting a dominance of diatoms. In the laboratory, photosynthesis, nitrification, and denitrification were broadly decoupled by incubating oxic and anoxic microcosms in the presence and absence of light and nitrogen cycling enzyme inhibitors. Through combining microcosm inhibition data with field-scale metagenomics, we inferred microbial clades responsible for biotransformation associated with membrane-bound nitrate reductase activity (emtricitabine, trimethoprim, and atenolol), nitrous oxide reduction (trimethoprim), ammonium oxidation (trimethoprim and emtricitabine), and photosynthesis (metoprolol). Monitoring of transformation products of atenolol and emtricitabine confirmed that inhibition was specific to biotransformation and highlighted the value of oscillating redox environments for the further transformation of atenolol acid. Our findings shed light on microbial processes contributing to pharmaceutical biotransformation in open-water wetlands with implications for similar nature-based treatment systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A P Vega
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), https://www.renuwit.org
| | - Rachel C Scholes
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), https://www.renuwit.org
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Adam R Brady
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), https://www.renuwit.org
| | - Rebecca A Daly
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Adrienne B Narrowe
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Lily B Bosworth
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), https://www.renuwit.org
- Hydrologic Science and Engineering Program, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Kelly C Wrighton
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - David L Sedlak
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), https://www.renuwit.org
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Jonathan O Sharp
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), https://www.renuwit.org
- Hydrologic Science and Engineering Program, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
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21
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Xu Y, Wang N, Peng L, Li S, Liang C, Song K, Song S, Zhou Y. Free Nitrous Acid Inhibits Atenolol Removal during the Sidestream Partial Nitritation Process through Regulating Microbial-Induced Metabolic Types. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:11614-11624. [PMID: 35900075 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c08845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Limited studies have attempted to evaluate pharmaceutical removal during the sidestream partial nitritation (PN) process. In this work, atenolol biodegradation by PN cultures was investigated by maintaining ammonium and pH at different levels. For the first time, free nitrous acid (FNA), other than ammonium, pH, and free ammonia, was demonstrated to inhibit atenolol removal, with biodegradation efficiencies of ∼98, ∼67, and ∼28% within 6 days at average FNA levels of 0, 0.03, and 0.19 mg-N L-1, respectively. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB)-induced metabolism was predominant despite varying FNA concentrations. In the absence of ammonium/FNA, atenolol was mostly biodegraded via AOB-induced metabolism (65%) and heterotroph-induced metabolism (33%). AOB-induced metabolism was largely inhibited (down to 29%) at 0.03 mg-N L-1 FNA, while ∼27 and ∼11% were degraded via heterotroph-induced metabolism and AOB-induced cometabolism, respectively. Higher FNA (0.19 mg-N L-1) substantially reduced atenolol biodegradation via heterotroph-induced metabolism (4%), AOB-induced metabolism (16%), and AOB-induced cometabolism (8%). Newly identified products and pathways were related to metabolic types and FNA levels: (i) deamination and decarbonylation (AOB-induced cometabolism, 0.03 mg-N L-1 FNA); (ii) deamination from atenolol acid (heterotrophic biodegradation); and (iii) nitro-substitution (reaction with nitrite). This suggests limiting FNA to realize simultaneous nitrogen and pharmaceutical removal during the sidestream process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifeng Xu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Ning Wang
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Lai Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Shengjun Li
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Chuanzhou Liang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Kang Song
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China
| | - Shaoxian Song
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Yan Zhou
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798 Singapore
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22
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Yu Y, Che S, Ren C, Jin B, Tian Z, Liu J, Men Y. Microbial Defluorination of Unsaturated Per- and Polyfluorinated Carboxylic Acids under Anaerobic and Aerobic Conditions: A Structure Specificity Study. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:4894-4904. [PMID: 35373561 PMCID: PMC9465985 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c05509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The recently discovered microbial reductive defluorination of two C6 branched and unsaturated fluorinated carboxylic acids (FCAs) provided valuable insights into the environmental fate of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and potential bioremediation strategies. However, a systematic investigation is needed to further demonstrate the role of C═C double bonds in the biodegradability of unsaturated PFASs. Here, we examined the structure-biodegradability relationships of 13 FCAs, including nine commercially available unsaturated FCAs and four structurally similar saturated ones, in an anaerobic defluorinating enrichment and an activated sludge community. The anaerobic and aerobic transformation/defluorination pathways were elucidated. The results showed that under anaerobic conditions, the α,β-unsaturation is crucial for FCA biotransformation via reductive defluorination and/or hydrogenation pathways. With sp2 C-F bonds being substituted by C-H bonds, the reductive defluorination became less favorable than hydrogenation. Moreover, for the first time, we reported enhanced degradability and defluorination capability of specific unsaturated FCA structures with trifluoromethyl (-CF3) branches at the α/β-carbon. Such FCA structures can undergo anaerobic abiotic defluorination in the presence of reducing agents and significant aerobic microbial defluorination. Given the diverse applications and emerging concerns of fluorochemicals, this work not only advances the fundamental understanding of the fate of unsaturated PFASs in natural and engineered environments but also may provide insights into the design of readily degradable fluorinated alternatives to existing PFAS compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaochun Yu
- Department
of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, A235 Bourns Hall, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Shun Che
- Department
of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, A235 Bourns Hall, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Changxu Ren
- Department
of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, A235 Bourns Hall, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Bosen Jin
- Department
of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, A235 Bourns Hall, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Zhenyu Tian
- College
of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Jinyong Liu
- Department
of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, A235 Bourns Hall, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Yujie Men
- Department
of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, A235 Bourns Hall, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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23
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Yan R, Wang Y, Li J, Wang X, Wang Y. Determination of the lower limits of antibiotic biodegradation and the fate of antibiotic resistant genes in activated sludge: Both nitrifying bacteria and heterotrophic bacteria matter. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 425:127764. [PMID: 34799165 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotics can be biodegraded in activated sludge via co-metabolism and metabolism. In this study, we investigated the biodegradation pathways of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and antibiotic resistant genes' (ARGs) fate in different autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms, by employing aerobic sludge, mixed sludge, and nitrifying sludge. A threshold concentration of SMX activating the degradation pathways in the initial stage of antibiotics degradation was found and proved in different activated sludge systems. Heterotrophic bacteria played an important role in SMX biodegradation. However, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) had a faster metabolic rate, which was about 15 times higher than heterotrophic bacteria, contributing much to SMX removal via co-metabolism. As SMX concentration increases, the amoA gene and AOB relative abundance decreased in aerobic sludge due to the enrichment of functional heterotrophic bacteria, while it increased in nitrifying sludge. Microbial community analysis showed that functional bacteria which possess the capacity of SMX removal and antibiotic resistance were selected by SMX pressure. Potential ARGs hosts could increase their resistance to the biotoxicity of SMX and maintain system performance. These findings are of practical significance to guide antibiotic biodegradation and ARGs control in wastewater treatment plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruofan Yan
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Yibing Wang
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Jiahuan Li
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Xinhua Wang
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China.
| | - Yunkun Wang
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
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24
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Li S, Peng L, Yang C, Song S, Xu Y. Cometabolic biodegradation of antibiotics by ammonia oxidizing microorganisms during wastewater treatment processes. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 305:114336. [PMID: 34953231 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 11/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Studies on antibiotic removal during wastewater treatment processes are crucial since their release into the environment could bring potential threats to human health and ecosystem. Cometabolic biodegradation of antibiotics by ammonia oxidizing microorganisms (AOMs) has received special attentions due to the enhanced removal of antibiotics during nitrification processes. However, the interactions between antibiotics and AOMs are less well-elucidated. In this review, the recent research proceedings on cometabolic biodegradation of antibiotics by AOMs were summarized. Ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB), ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) and complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox) played significant roles in both nitrification and cometabolic biodegradation of antibiotics. Antibiotics at varying concentrations might pose inhibiting or stimulating effect on AOMs, influencing the microbial activity, community abundance and ammonia monooxygenase subunit A gene expression level. AOMs-induced cometabolic biodegradation products were analyzed as well as the corresponding pathways for each type of antibiotics. The effects of ammonium availability, initial antibiotic concentration, sludge retention time and temperature were assessed on the cometabolic biodegradation efficiencies of antibiotics. This work might provide further insights into the fate and removal of antibiotics during nitrification processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengjun Li
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China
| | - Lai Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China.
| | - Chenguang Yang
- Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya Hainan, 572000, China
| | - Shaoxian Song
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China
| | - Yifeng Xu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China.
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25
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Osorio V, Cruz-Alcalde A, Pérez S. Nitrosation and nitration of diclofenac and structurally related nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in nitrifying activated sludge. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 807:150533. [PMID: 34597575 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Diclofenac (DCF) is a highly consumed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is excreted partially metabolized and is poorly removed during wastewater treatment. Previous findings demonstrated that DCF in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) is partially removed to nitro/nitroso compounds. The reactive nitrogen species, that are microbially produced during nitrification in the activated sludge of WWTP, were suspected to be involved in the transformation of DCF. Therefore, here, we investigated the molecular features governing such biotransformation and the role played by nitrifying bacteria by biodegradation experiments at lab scale in enriched nitrifying sludge bioreactors spiked with DCF and other structurally related non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). We provided evidence of the incorporation of NO/NO2 groups into DCF originated from ammonia by isotopically labelled biodegradation experiments. Nitroso and nitro-derivatives were tentatively identified for all NSAIDs studied and biotransformation mechanisms were proposed. Our findings from biodegradation experiments performed under different incubation conditions suggested that biotransformation of DCF and its related NSAIDs might not only be microbially mediated by ammonia oxidizing bacteria, but other nitrifiers co-occurring in the activated sludge as ammonia oxidizing archaea and nitrite oxidizing bacteria. Follow-up studies should be conducted to disentangle such complex behaviour in order to improve removal of these contaminants in WWTPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Osorio
- ENFOCHEM, IDAEA-CSIC, c/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona, Spain; Department of Chemistry, University of Girona, c/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany, 69, E-17003 Girona, Spain.
| | | | - Sandra Pérez
- ENFOCHEM, IDAEA-CSIC, c/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
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26
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Athanasakoglou A, Fenner K. Toward Characterizing the Genetic Basis of Trace Organic Contaminant Biotransformation in Activated Sludge: The Role of Multicopper Oxidases as a Case Study. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:313-324. [PMID: 34932304 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c05803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Activated sludge treatment leverages the ability of microbes to uptake and (co)-metabolize chemicals and has shown promise in eliminating trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) during wastewater treatment. However, targeted interventions to optimize the process are limited as the fundamental drivers of the observed reactions remain elusive. In this work, we present a comprehensive workflow for the identification and characterization of key enzymes involved in TrOCs biotransformation pathways in complex microbial communities. To demonstrate the applicability of the workflow, we investigated the role of the enzymatic group of multicopper oxidases (MCOs) as one putatively relevant driver of TrOCs biotransformation. To this end, we analyzed activated sludge metatranscriptomic data and selected, synthesized, and heterologously expressed three phylogenetically distinct MCO-encoding genes expressed in communities with different TrOCs oxidation potentials. Following the purification of the encoded enzymes, we screened their activities against different substrates. We saw that MCOs exhibit significant activities against selected TrOCs in the presence of the mediator compound 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid and, in some cases, also in the presence of the wastewater contaminant 4'-hydroxy-benzotriazole. In the first case, we identified oxidation products previously reported from activated sludge communities and concluded that in the presence of appropriate mediators, bacterial MCOs could contribute to the biological removal of TrOCs. Similar investigations of other key enzyme systems may significantly advance our understanding of TrOCs biodegradation and assist the rational design of biology-based water treatment strategies in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia Athanasakoglou
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Fenner
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
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27
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Li S, Xu Y, Liang C, Wang N, Song S, Peng L. Enhanced biodegradation of ciprofloxacin by enriched nitrifying sludge: assessment of removal pathways and microbial responses. WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY : A JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION ON WATER POLLUTION RESEARCH 2022; 85:409-419. [PMID: 35050892 DOI: 10.2166/wst.2021.609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotics are mostly collected by sewage systems, but not completely removed within wastewater treatment plants. Their release to aquatic environment poses a great threat to public health. This study evaluated the removal of a widely used fluoroquinolone antibiotic, ciprofloxacin, in enriched nitrifying culture through a series of experiments by controlling ammonium concentrations and inhibiting functional microorganisms. The removal efficiency of ciprofloxacin at an initial concentration of 50 μg L-1 reached 81.86 ± 3.21% in the presence of ammonium, while only 22.83 ± 8.22% of ciprofloxacin was removed in its absence. A positive linear correlation was found between the ammonia oxidation rate (AOR) and ciprofloxacin biodegradation rate. These jointly confirmed the importance of the AOB-induced cometabolism in ciprofloxacin biodegradation, with adsorption and metabolic degradation pathways playing minor roles. The continuous exposure of AOB to ciprofloxacin led to decreases of ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) activities and AOR. The antibacterial effects of ciprofloxacin and its biodegradation products were further evaluated and the results revealed that biodegradation products of ciprofloxacin exhibited less toxicity compared to the parent compound, implying the potential application of cometabolism in alleviation of antimicrobial activity. The findings provided new insights into the AOB-induced cometabolic biodegradation of fluoroquinolone antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengjun Li
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China E-mail: ; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Yifeng Xu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China E-mail: ; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Chuanzhou Liang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China E-mail: ; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Ning Wang
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Shaoxian Song
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China E-mail: ; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Lai Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China E-mail: ; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China; Shenzhen Research Institute, Wuhan University of Technology, Gaoxin South Fourth Road 19, Yuehai Street, Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518063, China
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28
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Kennes-Veiga DM, Gónzalez-Gil L, Carballa M, Lema JM. Enzymatic cometabolic biotransformation of organic micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants: A review. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 344:126291. [PMID: 34752884 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Biotransformation of trace-level organic micropollutants (OMPs) by complex microbial communities in wastewater treatment facilities is a key process for their detoxification and environmental impact reduction. Therefore, understanding the metabolic activities and mechanisms that contribute to their biotransformation is essential when developing approaches aiming to minimize their discharge. This review addresses the relevance of cometabolic processes and discusses the main enzymatic activities currently known to take part in OMPs removal under different redox environments in the compartments of wastewater treatment plants. Furthermore, the most common methodologies to decipher such enzymes are discussed, including the use of in vitro enzyme assays, enzymatic inhibitors, the analysis of transformation products and the application of several -omic techniques. Finally, perspectives on major challenges and future research requirements to improve OMPs biotransformation are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Kennes-Veiga
- CRETUS, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - Lorena Gónzalez-Gil
- Defence University Centre, Spanish Naval Academy, Plaza de España, 36920 Marín, Spain
| | - Marta Carballa
- CRETUS, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Juan M Lema
- CRETUS, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
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29
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Ciftcioglu B, Demirkaya E, Salih E, Soylu D, Ozyildiz G, Zengin GE, Guven D, Topuz E, Pala-Ozkok I, Insel G, Cokgor E, Tas DO. Insights into the acute effect of anti-inflammatory drugs on activated sludge systems with high solids retention time. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY 2021; 42:3920-3931. [PMID: 32406326 DOI: 10.1080/09593330.2020.1761456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The increase in the occurrence of the pharmaceuticals in the environmental compartments is becoming emerging concern as it reflects their inefficient treatment in the wastewater treatment plants which are the main sources of these micropollutants. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are one of the most commonly prescribed and frequently detected pain medications in wastewater treatment plants. A lab scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was operated for seven months and acute inhibitory effect of NSAIDs on activated sludge was tested with respirometry. Culture amendment with different concentrations of NSAIDs in the presence as well as absence of nitrification inhibitor resulted in considerable variation in the oxygen uptake rate (OUR) profiles. The decrease in OUR and nitrate production rate governed with reduced heterotrophic and nitrification activity. The kinetics of half saturation for growth and maximum autotrophic growth rates are determined to be affected negatively by the acute impact of anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals even at the environmentally relevant concentrations. High removal of tested NSAIDs was observed even for the first time introduce with these compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bengisu Ciftcioglu
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Esma Demirkaya
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Esra Salih
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Dilsad Soylu
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Goksin Ozyildiz
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gulsum Emel Zengin
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Didem Guven
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Applied Biopolymer and Bioplastics Production Technologies Research Center, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Emel Topuz
- Faculty of Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli, Turkey
| | - Ilke Pala-Ozkok
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Bioscience and Environmental Engineering, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
| | - Güçlü Insel
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Emine Cokgor
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Didem Okutman Tas
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
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30
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Fenner K, Men Y. Comment on "Role of Ammonia Oxidation in Organic Micropollutant Transformation during Wastewater Treatment": Overlooked Evidence to the Contrary. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:12128-12129. [PMID: 34405990 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c04178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin Fenner
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Yujie Men
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, Riverside California 92521, United States
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31
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Chalifour A, Walser JC, Pomati F, Fenner K. Temperature, phytoplankton density and bacteria diversity drive the biotransformation of micropollutants in a lake ecosystem. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 202:117412. [PMID: 34303164 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
For most micropollutants (MPs) present in surface waters, such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals, the contribution of biotransformation to their overall removal from lake ecosystems is largely unknown. This study aims at empirically determining the biotransformation rate constants for 35 MPs at different periods of the year and depths of a meso-eutrophic lake. We then tested statistically the association of environmental parameters and microbial community composition with the biotransformation rate constants obtained. Biotransformation was observed for 14 out of 35 studied MPs for at least one sampling time. Large variations in biotransformation rate constants were observed over the seasons and between compounds. Overall, the transformation of MPs was mostly influenced by the lake's temperature, phytoplankton density and bacterial diversity. However, some individual MPs were not following the general trend or association with microorganism biomass. The antidepressant mianserin, for instance, was transformed in all experiments and depths, but did not show any relationship with measured environmental parameters, suggesting the importance of specific microorganisms in its transformation. The results presented here contribute to our understanding of the fate of MPs in surface waters and thus support improved risk assessment of contaminants in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annie Chalifour
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
| | - Jean-Claude Walser
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Genetic Diversity Centre, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Pomati
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Fenner
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
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32
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Wolff D, Helmholz L, Castronovo S, Ghattas AK, Ternes TA, Wick A. Micropollutant transformation and taxonomic composition in hybrid MBBR - A comparison of carrier-attached biofilm and suspended sludge. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 202:117441. [PMID: 34343873 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The suspended sludge and carrier-attached biofilms of three different hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) systems were investigated with respect to their transformation potential for a broad range of micropollutants (MPs) as well as their microbial community composition. For this purpose, laboratory-scale batch experiments were conducted with the separated suspended sludge and the carrier-attached biofilm of every system in triplicate. For all batches the removal of 31 MPs as well as the composition of the microbial community were analyzed. The carrier-attached biofilms from two hybrid MBBR systems showed a significant higher overall transformation potential in comparison to the respective suspended sludge. Especially for the MPs trimethoprim, diclofenac, mecoprop, climbazole and the human metabolite 10,11-dihydro-10-hydroxycarbamazepine consistently higher pseudo-first-order transformation rates could be observed in all three systems. The analysis of the taxonomic composition revealed taxa showing higher relative abundances in the carrier-attached biofilms (e. g. Nitrospirae and Chloroflexi) and in the suspended biomasses (e. g. Bacteroidetes and Betaproteobacteria). Correlations of the biodiversity indices and the MP biotransformation rates resulted in significant positive associations for 11 compounds in suspended sludge, but mostly negative associations for the carrier-attached biofilms. The distinct differences in MP removal between suspended sludge and carrier-attached biofilm of the three different MBBR systems were also reflected by a statistically significant link between the occurrence of specific bacterial taxa (Acidibacter, Nitrospira and Rhizomicrobium) and MP transformation rates of certain MPs. Even though the identified correlations might not necessarily be of causal nature, some of the identified taxa might serve as suitable indicators for the transformation potential of suspended sludge or carrier-attached biofilms.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Wolff
- Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), D-56068 Koblenz, Am Mainzer Tor 1, Germany
| | - Lissa Helmholz
- Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), D-56068 Koblenz, Am Mainzer Tor 1, Germany
| | - Sandro Castronovo
- Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), D-56068 Koblenz, Am Mainzer Tor 1, Germany
| | - Ann-Kathrin Ghattas
- Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), D-56068 Koblenz, Am Mainzer Tor 1, Germany
| | - Thomas A Ternes
- Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), D-56068 Koblenz, Am Mainzer Tor 1, Germany
| | - Arne Wick
- Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), D-56068 Koblenz, Am Mainzer Tor 1, Germany.
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33
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Kennes-Veiga DM, Vogler B, Fenner K, Carballa M, Lema JM. Heterotrophic enzymatic biotransformations of organic micropollutants in activated sludge. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 780:146564. [PMID: 33774287 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
While heterotrophic microorganisms constitute the major fraction of activated sludge biomass, the role of heterotrophs in the biotransformation of organic micropollutants (OMPs) has not been fully elucidated. Yet, such knowledge is essential, particularly when conceiving novel wastewater treatment plants based on a two-stage process including an A-stage under heterotrophic conditions and a B-stage based on anammox activity. Biotransformation of OMPs in activated sludge is thought to mostly occur cometabolically thanks to the action of low specificity enzymes involved in the metabolism of the primary substrates. For a better understanding of the process, it is important to determine such enzymatic activities and the underlying mechanisms involved in OMPs biotransformation. This task has proven to be difficult due to the lack of information about the enzymatic processes and the complexity of the biological systems present in activated sludge. In this paper, a continuous aerobic heterotrophic reactor following 20 OMPs at environmental concentrations was operated to (i) assess the potential of heterotrophs during the cometabolic biotransformation of OMPs, (ii) identify biotransformation reactions catalyzed by aerobic heterotrophs and (iii) predict possible heterotrophic enzymatic activities responsible for such biotransformations. Contradicting previous reports on the dominant role of nitrifiers in OMPs removal during activated sludge treatment, the heterotrophic population proved its capacity to biotransform the OMPs to extents equivalent to reported values in nitrifying activated sludge plants. Besides, 12 transformation products potentially formed through the activity of several enzymes present in heterotrophs, including monooxygenases, dioxygenases, hydrolases and transferases, were identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Kennes-Veiga
- Cretus Institute, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.
| | - Bernadette Vogler
- Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Fenner
- Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland; Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Marta Carballa
- Cretus Institute, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
| | - Juan M Lema
- Cretus Institute, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
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34
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Sheng Q, Yi M, Men Y, Lu H. Cometabolism of 17α-ethynylestradiol by nitrifying bacteria depends on reducing power availability and leads to elevated nitric oxide formation. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2021; 153:106528. [PMID: 33774495 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) is a priority emerging contaminant (EC) in diverse environments that can be cometabolized by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB). However, its transformation kinetics and the underlying molecular mechanism are unclear. In this study, kinetic parameters, including maximum specific EE2 transformation rate, EE2 half-saturation coefficient, and EE2transformation capacity of AOBwere obtained by using the model AOB strain, Nitrosomonas europaea 19718. The relationship between EE2 cometabolism and ammonia oxidation was divided into three phases according to reducing power availability, namely "activation", "coupling", and "saturation". Specifically, there was a universal lag of EE2 transformation after ammonia oxidation was initiated, suggesting that sufficient reducing power (approximately 0.95 ± 0.06 mol NADH/L) was required to activate EE2 cometabolism. Interestingly, nitric oxide emission increased by 12 ± 2% during EE2 cometabolism, along with significantly upregulated nirK cluster genes. The findings are of importance to understanding the cometabolic behavior and mechanism of EE2 in natural and engineered environments. Maintaining relatively high and stable reducing power supply from ammonia oxidation can potentially improve the cometabolic removal of EE2 and other ECs during wastewater nitrification processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Sheng
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ming Yi
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yujie Men
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States
| | - Huijie Lu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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35
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Zhou LJ, Han P, Zhao M, Yu Y, Sun D, Hou L, Liu M, Zhao Q, Tang X, Klümper U, Gu JD, Men Y, Wu QL. Biotransformation of lincomycin and fluoroquinolone antibiotics by the ammonia oxidizers AOA, AOB and comammox: A comparison of removal, pathways, and mechanisms. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 196:117003. [PMID: 33730544 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we evaluated the biotransformation mechanisms of lincomycin (LIN) and three fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs), ciprofloxacin (CFX), norfloxacin (NFX), and ofloxacin (OFX), which regularly enter aquatic environments through human activities, by different ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM). The organisms included a pure culture of the complete ammonia oxidizer (comammox) Nitrospira inopinata, an ammonia oxidizing archaeon (AOA) Nitrososphaera gargensis, and an ammonia-oxidizing bacterium (AOB) Nitrosomonas nitrosa Nm90. The removal of these antibiotics by the pure microbial cultures and the protein-normalized biotransformation rate constants indicated that LIN was significantly co-metabolically biotransformed by AOA and comammox, but not by AOB. CFX and NFX were significantly co-metabolized by AOA and AOB, but not by comammox. None of the tested cultures transformed OFX effectively. Generally, AOA showed the best biotransformation capability for LIN and FQs, followed by comammox and AOB. The transformation products and their related biotransformation mechanisms were also elucidated. i) The AOA performed hydroxylation, S-oxidation, and demethylation of LIN, as well as nitrosation and cleavage of the piperazine moiety of CFX and NFX; ii) the AOB utilized nitrosation to biotransform CFX and NFX; and iii) the comammox carried out hydroxylation, demethylation, and demethylthioation of LIN. Hydroxylamine, an intermediate of ammonia oxidation, chemically reacted with LIN and the selected FQs, with removals exceeding 90%. Collectively, these findings provide important fundamental insights into the roles of different ammonia oxidizers and their intermediates on LIN and FQ biotransformation in nitrifying environments including wastewater treatment systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Jun Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - Ping Han
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China.
| | - Mengyue Zhao
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yaochun Yu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States; Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Dongyao Sun
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Lijun Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Min Liu
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Qiang Zhao
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xiufeng Tang
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Uli Klümper
- Institute for Hydrobiology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden 01217, Germany
| | - Ji-Dong Gu
- Environmental Engineering, Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 241 Daxue Road, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China
| | - Yujie Men
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States; Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Qinglong L Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China; Sino-Danish Center for Science and Education, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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36
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An Z, Kent TR, Sun Y, Bott CB, Wang ZW. Free ammonia resistance of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria developed in aerobic granular sludge cultivated in continuous upflow airlift reactors performing partial nitritation. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2021; 93:421-432. [PMID: 32816336 DOI: 10.1002/wer.1440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Free ammonia (FA) inhibition has been taken advantage as a strategy to suppress the growth of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in aerobic granules stabilized in a continuous upflow airlift reactor to achieve partial nitritation. However, after nearly 18 months of continuous exposure of aerobic granules to FA in the reactor, the FA inhibition of NOB was proven ineffective, and the partial nitritation gradually shifted to partial nitrification even though the long-term granule structural stability remained excellent under the continuous-flow mode. The extent of NOB resistance to FA inhibition was quantified based on the kinetic response of NOB to various FA concentrations in the form of an uncompetitive inhibition coefficient. It was confirmed that the NOB immobilized in larger granules under longer term exposure to FA tend to become more resistant to FA. Thereby, it was concluded that NOB can develop strong resistance to FA after continuous exposure, and thus, FA inhibition is not a reliable strategy to achieve partial nitritation in mainstream wastewater treatment. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Nitrifying aerobic granules can remain structurally stable in continuous-flow bioreactors. NOB developed free ammonia resistance after 6-month continuous exposure. Larger aerobic granules tended to develop stronger free ammonia resistance. Free ammonia inhibition is not a reliable strategy for mainstream anammox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaohui An
- Occoquan Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Manassas, VA, USA
| | | | - Yewei Sun
- Occoquan Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Manassas, VA, USA
- Hazen and Sawyer, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Charles B Bott
- Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, VA, USA
| | - Zhi-Wu Wang
- Occoquan Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Manassas, VA, USA
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37
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Su Q, Schittich AR, Jensen MM, Ng H, Smets BF. Role of Ammonia Oxidation in Organic Micropollutant Transformation during Wastewater Treatment: Insights from Molecular, Cellular, and Community Level Observations. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:2173-2188. [PMID: 33543927 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c06466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Organic micropollutants (OMPs) are a threat to aquatic environments, and wastewater treatment plants may act as a source or a barrier of OMPs entering the environment. Understanding the fate of OMPs in wastewater treatment processes is needed to establish efficient OMP removal strategies. Enhanced OMP biotransformation has been documented during biological nitrogen removal and has been attributed to the cometabolic activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and, specifically, to the ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) enzyme. Yet, the exact mechanisms of OMP biotransformation are often unknown. This critical review aims to fundamentally and quantitatively evaluate the role of ammonia oxidation in OMP biotransformation during wastewater treatment processes. OMPs can be transformed by AOB via direct and indirect enzymatic reactions: AMO directly transforms OMPs primarily via hydroxylation, while biologically produced reactive nitrogen species (hydroxylamine (NH2OH), nitrite (NO2-), and nitric oxide (NO)) can chemically transform OMPs through nitration, hydroxylation, and deamination and can contribute significantly to the observed OMP transformations. OMPs containing alkyl, aliphatic hydroxyl, ether, and sulfide functional groups as well as substituted aromatic rings and aromatic primary amines can be biotransformed by AMO, while OMPs containing alkyl groups, phenols, secondary amines, and aromatic primary amines can undergo abiotic transformations mediated by reactive nitrogen species. Higher OMP biotransformation efficiencies and rates are obtained in AOB-dominant microbial communities, especially in autotrophic reactors performing nitrification or nitritation, than in non-AOB-dominant microbial communities. The biotransformations of OMPs in wastewater treatment systems can often be linked to ammonium (NH4+) removal following two central lines of evidence: (i) Similar transformation products (i.e., hydroxylated, nitrated, and desaminated TPs) are detected in wastewater treatment systems as in AOB pure cultures. (ii) Consistency in OMP biotransformation (rbio, μmol/g VSS/d) to NH4+ removal (rNH4+, mol/g VSS/d) rate ratios (rbio/rNH4+) is observed for individual OMPs across different systems with similar rNH4+ and AOB abundances. In this review, we conclude that AOB are the main drivers of OMP biotransformation during wastewater treatment processes. The importance of biologically driven abiotic OMP transformation is quantitatively assessed, and functional groups susceptible to transformations by AMO and reactive nitrogen species are systematically classified. This critical review will improve the prediction of OMP transformation and facilitate the design of efficient OMP removal strategies during wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingxian Su
- National University of Singapore Environmental Research Institute, 5A Engineering Drive 1, 117411 Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Anna-Ricarda Schittich
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Marlene Mark Jensen
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Howyong Ng
- National University of Singapore Environmental Research Institute, 5A Engineering Drive 1, 117411 Singapore, Singapore
- Centre for Water Research, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Drive 2, 117576 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Barth F Smets
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark
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Tang K, Rosborg P, Rasmussen ES, Hambly A, Madsen M, Jensen NM, Hansen AA, Sund C, Andersen HG, Torresi E, Kragelund C, Andersen HR. Impact of intermittent feeding on polishing of micropollutants by moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR). JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2021; 403:123536. [PMID: 32823027 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) were placed at two wastewater treatment plants, where they were constantly fed with effluent and intermittently fed with primary wastewater. Each reactor was subjected to different feast/famine periods and flow rates of primary wastewater, thus the different organic and nutrient loads (chemical oxygen demand(COD), ammonium(NH4-N)) resulted in different feast-famine conditions applied to the biomass. In batch experiments, this study investigated the effects of various feast-famine conditions on the biodegradation of micropollutants by MBBRs applied as an effluent polishing step. Rate constants of micropollutant removals were found to be positively correlated to the load of the total COD and NH4-N, indicating that higher organic loads were favourable for the growth of micropollutant degraders in these MBBRs. Rate constant of atenolol was five times higher when the biomass was fed with the highest COD and NH4-N load than it was fed with the lowest COD and NH4-N load. For diclofenac, mycophenolic acid and iohexol, their maximum rate constants were obtained with feeding of COD and NH4-N of approximately 570 mgCOD/d and 40∼60 mgNH4-N/d respectively. This also supports the concept that co-metabolism (rather competition inhibition or catabolic repression) plays an important role in micropollutants biodegradation in wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Tang
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Peter Rosborg
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Danish Technological Institute, Kongsvang Allé 29, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark
| | - Emma S Rasmussen
- Department of Bioscoence-Microbiology, Århus University, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Adam Hambly
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | | | - Aviaja A Hansen
- Veolia Water Technologies, Haslegårdsvænger 18, 8210 Århus V, Denmark
| | - Christina Sund
- Veolia Water Technologies, Haslegårdsvænger 18, 8210 Århus V, Denmark
| | - Heidi G Andersen
- Veolia Water Technologies, Haslegårdsvænger 18, 8210 Århus V, Denmark
| | - Elena Torresi
- AnoxKaldnes Technology, Klosterängsvägen 11A, 226 47 Lund, Sweden
| | - Caroline Kragelund
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Danish Technological Institute, Kongsvang Allé 29, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark
| | - Henrik R Andersen
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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Carmen S. Microbial capability for the degradation of chemical additives present in petroleum-based plastic products: A review on current status and perspectives. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2021; 402:123534. [PMID: 33254737 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2020] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Plastic additives are present as pollutants in the environment because they are released from plastics and have been reported to be toxic to mammals. Due to this toxicity, it is crucial to develop ecofriendly tools to decontaminate the environment. Microorganisms are a promising alternative for efficient and effective plastic additive removal. This review describes the current knowledge and significant advances in the microbial degradation of plastic additives (i.e. plasticizers, flame retardants, stabilizers and antioxidants) and biotechnological research strategies that are being used to accelerate the biodegradation process of these additives. It is expected that further research supported by advances in genomics, proteomics, gene expression, enzyme immobilization, protein design, and nanotechnology can substantially increase our knowledge to enhance the enzymatic degradation efficiency, which will accelerate plastic additive degradation and establish successful and cost-effective bioremediation processes. Investigations should also address the identification of the enzymes involved in the degradation process and their catalytic mechanisms to achieve full metabolization of organopollutants (i.e. plastic additives) while avoiding harmful plastic additive biodegradation products. Microorganisms and their enzymes undoubtedly represent a potential resource for developing promising environmental biotechnologies, as they have the best systems for pollutant degradation, and their actions are essential for decontaminating the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sánchez Carmen
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, Research Centre for Biological Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Ixtacuixtla, C.P.90120, Tlaxcala, Mexico.
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Wu G, Geng J, Xu K, Ren H. Removal of pharmaceuticals by ammonia oxidizers during nitrification. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 105:909-921. [PMID: 33415368 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-11032-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The adverse effect of pharmaceuticals on ecosystem and human health raises great interest for the removal of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Enhanced removal of pharmaceuticals by ammonia oxidizers (AOs) has been observed during nitrification. This review provides a comprehensive summary on the removal of pharmaceuticals by AOs-ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB), ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA), and complete ammonia oxidizer (comammox) during nitrification in pure ammonia oxidizing culture and mixed microbes systems. The superior removal of pharmaceuticals by AOs in conditions with nitrifying activity compared with the conditions without nitrifying activity was proposed. The contribution of AOs on pharmaceuticals removal in pure and mixed microbe systems was discussed and activated sludge modeling was suggested as the proper measure on assessing the contribution of AOs on the removal of pharmaceuticals in mixed microbe culture. Three transformation processes and the involved reaction types of pharmaceuticals transformation during nitrification were reviewed. The present paper provides a systematical summary on pharmaceuticals removal by different AOs across pure and mixed microbes culture during nitrification, which opens up the opportunity to optimize the wastewater biological treatment systems for enhanced removal of pharmaceuticals. KEY POINTS: • The superior removal of pharmaceuticals by ammonia oxidizers (AOs) was summarized. • The removal contribution of pharmaceuticals attributed by AOs was elucidated. • The transformation processes and reaction types of pharmaceuticals were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinju Geng
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
| | - Ke Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongqiang Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
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Wang B, Li H, Liu T, Guo J. Enhanced removal of cephalexin and sulfadiazine in nitrifying membrane-aerated biofilm reactors. CHEMOSPHERE 2021; 263:128224. [PMID: 33297180 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/30/2020] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Nitrification process has been reported to be capable of degrading various pharmaceuticals due to the cometabolism of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). The membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) is an emerging configuration in wastewater treatment with advantages of high nitrification rate and low energy consumption. However, there are very few studies investigating the degradation of antibiotics at environmentally relevant levels in nitrifying MABR systems. In this study, the removal of two widely used antibiotics, cephalexin (CFX) and sulfadiazine (SDZ), was evaluated in two independent MABRs with nitrifying biofilms. The impacts of CFX and SDZ exposure on the nitrification performance and microbial community structure within biofilms were also investigated. The results showed that nitrifying biofilms were very efficient in removing CFX (94.6%) and SDZ (75.4%) with an initial concentration of 100 μg/L when hydraulic retention time (HRT) was 4 h in the reactors. When HRT decreased from 4 h to 3 h, the removal rates of CFX and SDZ increased significantly from 23.4 ± 1.0 μg/(L·h) and 18.7 ± 1.1 μg/(L·h), respectively, to 27.7 ± 1.3 μg/(L·h) (p<0.01) and 20.8 ± 2.4 μg/(L·h) (p<0.05), while the removal efficiencies decreased to 86.0% and 61.5%, respectively. Despite the exposure to CFX and SDZ, the nitrification performance was not affected, and microbial community structure within biofilms also remained relatively stable. This study shows that nitrifying MABR process is a promising option for the efficient removal of antibiotics from domestic wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingzheng Wang
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Huayu Li
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia; Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, Department of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Tao Liu
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
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Yu Y, Zhang K, Li Z, Ren C, Chen J, Lin YH, Liu J, Men Y. Microbial Cleavage of C-F Bonds in Two C 6 Per- and Polyfluorinated Compounds via Reductive Defluorination. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020; 54:14393-14402. [PMID: 33121241 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c04483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The C-F bond is one of the strongest single bonds in nature. Although microbial reductive dehalogenation is well known for the other organohalides, no microbial reductive defluorination has been documented for perfluorinated compounds except for a single, nonreproducible study on trifluoroacetate. Here, we report on C-F bond cleavage in two C6 per- and polyfluorinated compounds via reductive defluorination by an organohalide-respiring microbial community. The reductive defluorination was demonstrated by the release of F- and the formation of the corresponding product when lactate was the electron donor, and the fluorinated compound was the sole electron acceptor. The major dechlorinating species in the seed culture, Dehalococcoides, were not responsible for the defluorination as no growth of Dehalococcoides or active expression of Dehalococcoides-reductive dehalogenases was observed. It suggests that minor phylogenetic groups in the community might be responsible for the reductive defluorination. These findings expand our fundamental knowledge of microbial reductive dehalogenation and warrant further studies on the enrichment, identification, and isolation of responsible microorganisms and enzymes. Given the wide use and emerging concerns of fluorinated organics (e.g., per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), particularly the perfluorinated ones, the discovery of microbial defluorination under common anaerobic conditions may provide valuable insights into the environmental fate and potential bioremediation strategies of these notorious contaminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaochun Yu
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Kunyang Zhang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Zhong Li
- Metabolomics Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Changxu Ren
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Jin Chen
- Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Ying-Hsuan Lin
- Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Jinyong Liu
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Yujie Men
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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Li H, Yao H, Liu T, Wang B, Xia J, Guo J. Achieving simultaneous nitrogen and antibiotic removal in one-stage partial nitritation-Anammox (PN/A) process. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2020; 143:105987. [PMID: 32763631 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Partial nitritation-Anammox (PN/A) process has been recognized as a sustainable process for biological nitrogen removal. Although various antibiotics have been ubiquitously detected in influent of wastewater treatment plants, little is known whether functional microorganisms in the PN/A process are capable of biodegrading antibiotics. This study aimed to investigate simultaneous nitrogen and antibiotic removal in a lab-scale one-stage PN/A system treating synthetic wastewater containing a widely-used antibiotic, sulfadiazine (SDZ). Results showed that maximum total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency of 86.1% and SDZ removal efficiency of 95.1% could be achieved when treating 5 mg/L SDZ under DO conditions of 0.5-0.6 mg/L. Compared to anammox bacteria, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) made a major contribution to SDZ degradation through their cometabolic pathway. A strong correlation between amoA gene and SDZ removal efficiency was found (p < 0.01). In addition, the degradation products of SDZ did not exhibit any inhibitory effects on Escherichia coli. The findings suggest that it is promising to apply the PN/A process to simultaneously remove antibiotics and nitrogen from contaminated wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huayu Li
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; Beijing International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Water Pollution Control Techniques for Antibiotics and Resistance Genes, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, Department of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China
| | - Hong Yao
- Beijing International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Water Pollution Control Techniques for Antibiotics and Resistance Genes, Beijing Key Laboratory of Aqueous Typical Pollutants Control and Water Quality Safeguard, Department of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, PR China.
| | - Tao Liu
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Bingzheng Wang
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jun Xia
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Vo HNP, Ngo HH, Guo W, Nguyen KH, Chang SW, Nguyen DD, Liu Y, Liu Y, Ding A, Bui XT. Micropollutants cometabolism of microalgae for wastewater remediation: Effect of carbon sources to cometabolism and degradation products. WATER RESEARCH 2020; 183:115974. [PMID: 32652348 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.115974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Revised: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the impacts of selective sole carbon source-induced micropollutants (MPs) cometabolism of Chlorella sp. by: (i) extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), superoxide dismutase and peroxidase enzyme production; (ii) MPs removal efficiency and cometabolism rate; (iii) MPs' potential degradation products identification; and (iv) degradation pathways and validation using the Eawag database to differentiate the cometabolism of Chlorella sp. with other microbes. Adding the sole carbon sources in the presence of MPs increased EPS and enzyme concentrations from 2 to 100-fold in comparison with only sole carbon sources. This confirmed that MPs cometabolism had occurred. The removal efficiencies of tetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, and bisphenol A ranged from 16-99%, 32-92%, and 58-99%, respectively. By increasing EPS and enzyme activity, the MPs concentrations accumulated in microalgae cells also fell 400-fold. The cometabolism process resulted in several degradation products of MPs. This study drew an insightful understanding of cometabolism for MPs remediation in wastewater. Based on the results, proper carbon sources for microalgae can be selected for practical applications to remediate MPs in wastewater while simultaneously recovering biomass for several industries and gaining revenue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoang Nhat Phong Vo
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Huu Hao Ngo
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia.
| | - Wenshan Guo
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Khanh Hoang Nguyen
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Soon Woong Chang
- Department of Environmental Energy Engineering, Kyonggi University, 442-760, Republic of Korea
| | - Dinh Duc Nguyen
- Department of Environmental Energy Engineering, Kyonggi University, 442-760, Republic of Korea; Institution of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Viet Nam
| | - Yiwen Liu
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, 2205 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, PR China
| | - An Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Nangang District, Harbin, 150090, PR China
| | - Xuan Thanh Bui
- Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Technology, Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh, 268 Ly Thuong Kiet st, Dist. 10, Ho Chi Minh City, 700 000, Viet Nam
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Wang Y, Shan J, Zhao Y, Li F, Corvini PFX, Ji R. Degradation and transformation of nitrated nonylphenol isomers in activated sludge under nitrifying and heterotrophic conditions. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2020; 393:122438. [PMID: 32151935 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2019] [Revised: 02/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Nitrated nonylphenols (2-nitro-nonylphenols, NNPs) are metabolites of the endocrine-disrupter nonylphenols (NPs). While they have been detected in the environment, their fate in activated sludge has yet to be determined. In this study, we used synthesized NNP isomers and a 14C-tracer technique to study the degradation and transformation of four NNP isomers (NNP111, NNP112, NNP38, and NNP65) in nitrifying activated sludge (NAS) and heterotrophic bacteria-enhanced activated sludge (HAS). Our results showed that the degradation of NNPs in both NAS and HAS was isomer-specific. The half-lives of the NNPs decreased in the order: NNP111 > NNP112 > NNP38 > NNP65. After 36 days of incubation, 9.48 % and 4.01 % of the 14C-NNP111 was mineralized in NAS and HAS, respectively. In addition to mineralization, five metabolites of NNPs containing hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl substituents on the alkyl chains were formed in NAS but not in HAS. The transformation of NNPs differed in NAS and HAS, mainly due to the differences in their microbial communities and the activities thereof in NAS and HAS. This is the first study of the isomer-specific fate of NNP isomers in activated sludge. Future studies should assess the toxicity, stability and potential risks of NNP metabolites in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongfeng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Avenue, 210023, Nanjing, China; Quanzhou Institute for Environment Protection Industry, Nanjing University, Beifeng Road, 362000, Quanzhou, China
| | - Jun Shan
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China; Changshu National Agro-Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China.
| | - Yingying Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Avenue, 210023, Nanjing, China
| | - Fangjie Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Avenue, 210023, Nanjing, China
| | - Philippe F-X Corvini
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Avenue, 210023, Nanjing, China; Institute for Ecopreneurship, School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 4132, Muttenz, Switzerland
| | - Rong Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Avenue, 210023, Nanjing, China; Quanzhou Institute for Environment Protection Industry, Nanjing University, Beifeng Road, 362000, Quanzhou, China.
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Wang B, Ni BJ, Yuan Z, Guo J. Unravelling kinetic and microbial responses of enriched nitrifying sludge under long-term exposure of cephalexin and sulfadiazine. WATER RESEARCH 2020; 173:115592. [PMID: 32062227 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.115592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 02/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as one of the reservoirs of antibiotics. Although nitrifying bacteria have been reported to be capable of degrading various antibiotics, there are very few studies investigating long-term effects of antibiotics on kinetic and microbial responses of nitrifying bacteria. In this study, cephalexin (CFX) and sulfadiazine (SDZ) were selected to assess chronic impacts on nitrifying sludge with stepwise increasing concentrations in two independent bioreactors. The results showed that CFX and SDZ at an initial concentration of 100 μg/L could be efficiently removed by enriched nitrifying sludge, as evidenced by removal efficiencies of more than 88% and 85%, respectively. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) made a major contribution to the biodegradation of CFX and SDZ via cometabolism, compared to limited contributions from heterotrophic bacteria and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. Chronic exposure to CFX (≥30 μg/L) could stimulate ammonium oxidation activity in terms of a significant enhancement of ammonium oxidation rate (p < 0.01). In contrast, the ammonium oxidation activity was inhibited due to exposure to 30 μg/L SDZ (p < 0.01), then it recovered after long-term adaption under exposure to 50 and 100 μg/L SDZ. In addition, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed that the relative abundance of AOB decreased distinctly from 23.8% to 28.8% in the control phase (without CFX or SDZ) to 14.2% and 10.8% under exposure to 100 μg/L CFX and SDZ, respectively. However, the expression level of amoA gene was up-regulated to overcome this adverse impact and maintain a stable and efficient removal of both ammonium and antibiotics. The findings in this study shed a light on chronic effects of antibiotic exposure on kinetic and microbial responses of enriched nitrifying sludge in WWTPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingzheng Wang
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Bing-Jie Ni
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
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Li Y, Zhang H, Rashid A, Hu A, Xin K, Li H, Adyari B, Wang Y, Yu CP, Sun Q. Bisphenol A attenuation in natural microcosm: Contribution of ecological components and identification of transformation pathways through stable isotope tracing. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2020; 385:121584. [PMID: 31761650 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Revised: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Residues of bisphenol A (BPA) are ubiquitously detected in the surface water due to its widespread usage. This study systematically investigated the dissipation and kinetics of BPA under simulated hydrolysis, direct and indirect photolysis, bacterial degradation, microbial degradation and natural attenuation in microcosm. Structural equation modeling (SEM) by using partial least square method in path coefficient analysis suggested that the microbial degradation was the major factor involved in the natural attenuation of BPA. The potential transformation products were identified by using liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) and stable isotope tracing technique by simultaneous performing gas chromatography combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of fourteen including three novel transformation products of BPA were identified to indicate five possible pathways. An increased yield of labeled (δ13C) CO2 and detection of 13C-labeled phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) indicated the mineralization of BPA and possible utilization of BPA or its transformation products by microbes for cellular membrane synthesis, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Han Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China
| | - Azhar Rashid
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China; Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture, Tarnab, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan
| | - Anyi Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China
| | - Kuikui Xin
- College of Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China
| | - Haoran Li
- College of Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China
| | - Bob Adyari
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yuwen Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Chang-Ping Yu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China; Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
| | - Qian Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China.
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Wang B, Ni BJ, Yuan Z, Guo J. Insight into the nitrification kinetics and microbial response of an enriched nitrifying sludge in the biodegradation of sulfadiazine. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2019; 255:113160. [PMID: 31521996 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The intensive use of antibiotics results in the continuous release of antibiotics into wastewater treatment systems, leading to the spread of antibiotic resistance. Nitrifying system is reported to be capable of degrading antibiotics, yet few studies have systematically investigated the inherent correlation among ammonium oxidation rate, antibiotic degradation and genetic expression of nitrifying bacteria along the process. This study selected a widely used sulfonamide antibiotic, sulfadiazine (SDZ), to investigate its biodegradation potential by an enriched nitrifying culture and the response of nitrifying bacteria against antibiotic exposure. Our results demonstrated that SDZ degradation was mainly contributed by cometabolism of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), rather than biomass adsorption. The quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis revealed that the expression level of amoA gene was down-regulated due to the SDZ exposure. In addition, the degradation products of SDZ did not exhibit inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli K12, indicating the biotoxicity of SDZ could be mitigated after biodegradation. The findings offer insights regarding the biodegradation process of sulfonamide antibiotics via cometabolism by AOB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingzheng Wang
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Bing-Jie Ni
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Wu G, Geng J, Li S, Li J, Fu Y, Xu K, Ren H, Zhang X. Abiotic and biotic processes of diclofenac in enriched nitrifying sludge: Kinetics, transformation products and reactions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 683:80-88. [PMID: 31136967 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Revised: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Diclofenac (DCF), as an emerging contaminant in aquatic environments, has sparked increasing concerns about its impact on the environment. Nitrification in wastewater treatment processing has removed DCF to a large extent. However, the removal characteristics and mechanisms of DCF in the nitrification process are still poorly understood. In this study, enriched nitrifying sludge was used to investigate the transformation of DCF during the nitrification process. Elimination of DCF caused by volatilization, hydrolyzation and adsorption was limited. Abiotic nitration removal was confirmed as significant in enriched nitrifying sludge at a low pH and high nitrite concentration. Free nitrite acid was proposed as the reaction species participating in the DCF transformation process, and a regression equation was developed to predict the contribution of abiotic nitration on DCF removal in enriched nitrifying sludge. By slowly and continuously adding an ammonia stock solution and controlling the pH, we avoided the effect of abiotic nitration removal, and DCF biodegradation was positively correlated to specific ammonium oxidation rates (SAORs). The removal of DCF fit the first order kinetic model (R2 = 0.8285, p < 0.05) with an SAOR of 0.25 mg NH4+-N/(gMLSS·min). The high removal rate constant of k (0.1286 L/(gMLSS·h)) and short half-life (2.48 h) revealed the strong capability of nitrifying bacteria to transform DCF. Nine DCF transformation products were identified and three of them were quantified in the transformation process. The formation of kinetic profile 4-OH-DCF, 5-OH-DCF and DCF-Benzoic acid (DCF-BA) implied that hydroxylation may be the first reaction of DCF and DCF-BA may be a terminal product that resists further degradation. The postulated reactions concerning the transformation of DCF were hydroxylation, lactam formation and oxidation. Accordingly, a detailed degradation pathway was presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Jinju Geng
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Jiangsu, PR China.
| | - Shengnan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Juechun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Yingying Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Ke Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Hongqiang Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Xuxiang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 210023, Jiangsu, PR China
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Han P, Yu Y, Zhou L, Tian Z, Li Z, Hou L, Liu M, Wu Q, Wagner M, Men Y. Specific Micropollutant Biotransformation Pattern by the Comammox Bacterium Nitrospira inopinata. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2019; 53:8695-8705. [PMID: 31294971 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b01037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The recently discovered complete ammonia-oxidizing (comammox) bacteria occur in various environments, including wastewater treatment plants. To better understand their role in micropollutant biotransformation in comparison with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), we investigated the biotransformation capability of Nitrospira inopinata (the only comammox isolate) for 17 micropollutants. Asulam, fenhexamid, mianserin, and ranitidine were biotransformed by N. inopinata, Nitrososphaera gargensis (AOA), and Nitrosomonas nitrosa Nm90 (AOB). More distinctively, carbendazim, a benzimidazole fungicide, was exclusively biotransformed by N. inopinata. The biotransformation of carbendazim only occurred when N. inopinata was supplied with ammonia but not nitrite as the energy source. The exclusive biotransformation of carbendazim by N. inopinata was likely enabled by an enhanced substrate promiscuity of its unique AMO and its much higher substrate (for ammonia) affinity compared with the other two ammonia oxidizers. One major plausible transformation product (TP) of carbendazim is a hydroxylated form at the aromatic ring, which is consistent with the function of AMO. These findings provide fundamental knowledge on the micropollutant degradation potential of a comammox bacterium to better understand the fate of micropollutants in nitrifying environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Han
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Division of Microbial Ecology , University of Vienna , Althanstrasse 14 , 1090 Vienna , Austria
| | - Yaochun Yu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
| | - Lijun Zhou
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Division of Microbial Ecology , University of Vienna , Althanstrasse 14 , 1090 Vienna , Austria
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment , Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210008 , China
| | - Zhenyu Tian
- Center for Urban Waters , University of Washington Tacoma , Tacoma , Washington 98421 , United States
| | - Zhong Li
- Metabolomics Center , University of Illinois , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
| | | | | | - Qinglong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment , Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210008 , China
- Sino-Danish Center for Education and Science , University of Chinese Academy of Science , Beijing 100190 , China
| | - Michael Wagner
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Division of Microbial Ecology , University of Vienna , Althanstrasse 14 , 1090 Vienna , Austria
- The Comammox Research Platform of the University of Vienna , 1090 Vienna , Austria
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Bioscience , Aalborg University , 9100 Aalborg , Denmark
| | - Yujie Men
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
- Institute for Genomic Biology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
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