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Anaerobic biodegradation of trimethoprim with sulfate as an electron acceptor

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Abstract

Trimethoprim (TMP) is an antibiotic frequently detected in various environments. Microorganisms are the main drivers of emerging antibiotic contaminant degradation in the environment. However, the feasibility and stability of the anaerobic biodegradation of TMP with sulfate as an electron acceptor remain poorly understood. Here, TMP-degrading microbial consortia were successfully enriched from municipal activated sludge (AS) and river sediment (RS) as the initial inoculums. The acclimated consortia were capable of transforming TMP through demethylation, and the hydroxyl-substituted demethylated product (4-desmethyl-TMP) was further degraded. The biodegradation of TMP followed a 3-parameter sigmoid kinetic model. The potential degraders (Acetobacterium, Desulfovibrio, Desulfobulbus, and unidentified Peptococcaceae) and fermenters (Lentimicrobium and Petrimonas) were significantly enriched in the acclimated consortia. The AS- and RS-acclimated TMP-degrading consortia had similar core microbiomes. The anaerobic biodegradation of TMP could be coupled with sulfate respiration, which gives new insights into the antibiotic fate in real environments and provides a new route for the bioremediation of antibiotic-contaminated environments.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51808537), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2019M650866) the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KFZD-SW-219), the Youth Technology Fund Project of Gansu Province (No. 18JR3RA023), the Provincial Science and Technology Plan Projects of Gansu Province (No. 2015017) and the Youth Science and Technology Foundation of Gansu Province (No. 1506RJYA154).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shenyang Academy of Environmental Sciences, Shenyang, 110167, China

    Deyong Kong

  2. Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Bin Liang, Deyong Kong & Aijie Wang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Mengyuan Qi, Zhiling Li, Ke Shi & Aijie Wang

  4. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cell Activities and Stress Adaptations, School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Hui Yun

  5. The Environmental Monitoring Center of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730020, China

    E. Chen

  6. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Alisa S. Vangnai

  7. Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management (HSM), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Alisa S. Vangnai

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  1. Bin Liang
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  2. Deyong Kong
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  3. Mengyuan Qi
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  4. Hui Yun
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  5. Zhiling Li
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  6. Ke Shi
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  7. E. Chen
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  8. Alisa S. Vangnai
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  9. Aijie Wang
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Correspondence to Deyong Kong or Aijie Wang.

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Highlights

• Anaerobic biodegradation of trimethoprim (TMP) coupled with sulfate reduction.

• Demethylation of TMP is the first step in the acclimated microbial consortia.

• The potential degraders and fermenters were enriched in the acclimated consortia.

• Activated sludge and river sediment had similar core microbiomes.

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Liang, B., Kong, D., Qi, M. et al. Anaerobic biodegradation of trimethoprim with sulfate as an electron acceptor. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 13, 84 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-019-1168-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-019-1168-6

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