Biodegradation and Metabolic Pathway of 17β-Estradiol by Rhodococcus sp. ED55 |
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Authors: | Irina S. Moreira Sapia Murgolo Giuseppe Mascolo Paula M. L. Castro |
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Affiliation: | 1.CBQF—Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina, Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal;2.CNR, Istituto di Ricerca Sulle Acque, Via F. De Blasio 5, 70132 Bari, Italy; (S.M.); (G.M.);3.CNR, Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica, Via Amendola 122 I, 70126 Bari, Italy |
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Abstract: | Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the environment are considered a motif of concern, due to the widespread occurrence and potential adverse ecological and human health effects. The natural estrogen, 17β-estradiol (E2), is frequently detected in receiving water bodies after not being efficiently removed in conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), promoting a negative impact for both the aquatic ecosystem and human health. In this study, the biodegradation of E2 by Rhodococcus sp. ED55, a bacterial strain isolated from sediments of a discharge point of WWTP in Coloane, Macau, was investigated. Rhodococcus sp. ED55 was able to completely degrade 5 mg/L of E2 in 4 h in a synthetic medium. A similar degradation pattern was observed when the bacterial strain was used in wastewater collected from a WWTP, where a significant improvement in the degradation of the compound occurred. The detection and identification of 17 metabolites was achieved by means of UPLC/ESI/HRMS, which proposed a degradation pathway of E2. The acute test with luminescent marine bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri revealed the elimination of the toxicity of the treated effluent and the standardized yeast estrogenic (S-YES) assay with the recombinant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed a decrease in the estrogenic activity of wastewater samples after biodegradation. |
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Keywords: | endocrine disrupting chemicals, Rhodococcus sp. ED55, bioaugmentation, wastewater, 17β -estradiol |
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