title: 17alpha-ethinylestradiol cometabolism by bacteria degrading estrone, 17beta-estradiol and estriol.
abstract: 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2), the active compound of the contraceptive pill, is a recalcitrant estrogen, which is encountered at ng/l levels in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and rivers and can cause feminization of aquatic organisms. The aim of this study was to isolate micro-organisms that could remove such low EE2 concentrations. In this study, six bacterial strains were isolated from compost that co-metabolize EE2 when metabolizing estrone (E1), 17beta-estradiol (E2) and estriol (E3). The strains belong to the alpha, beta and gamma-Proteobacteria. All six strains metabolize E2 over E1, at microg/l to ng/l concentrations. In 4 days, initial concentrations of 0.5 microg E2/l and 0.6 microg EE2/l were degraded to 1.8 +/- 0.4 ng E2/l and 85 +/- 16 ng EE2/l, respectively. No other metabolites besides E1, E2, E3 or EE2 were detected, suggesting that total degradation and cleavage of the aromatic ring occurred. This is the first study describing that bacteria able to metabolize E2, can subsequently co-metabolize EE2 at low microg/l levels.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Faculty of Bio-engineering Science, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pauwels
authors.forename: Klaas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wille
authors.forename: Herlinde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Noppe
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: De Brabander
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Van de Wiele
authors.forename: Willy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Verstraete
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boon
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004958:Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism*; D004964:Estriol / Q000378:metabolism*; D004970:Estrone / Q000378:metabolism*; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004970:Estrone; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol; D004958:Estradiol; D004964:Estriol