title: Antibiotic sulfanilamide biodegradation by acclimated microbial populations.
abstract: Sulfonamide antibiotics are commonly detected in the environment. Microbial degradation can play an important role in the dissipation of sulfonamide antibiotics. However, many aspects regarding the influential factor and biodegradation pathway remain essentially unclear. Moreover, phylogenetic information on the sulfonamide-degrading microbial community is still very limited. The present study investigated the biodegradation of sulfonamide antibiotic sulfanilamide by acclimated mixed culture and its influential factors, and the sulfanilamide-degrading microbial community. At the initial sulfanilamide concentration of 100 μg/L, nearly half of the antibiotic could be removed by acclimated microbial populations after 1 week of incubation, and an average removal rate of 78.3 % could be achieved in 4 weeks. p-Phenylenediamine, benzene sulfonamide, and hydroxylamine benzene sulfonamide were identified as the potential intermediates. Sulfanilamide biodegradation could be enhanced by a temperature rise and the presence of external carbon or nitrogen sources. The richness, diversity, and structure of the bacterial community showed a remarkable change with sulfanilamide biodegradation. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes (mainly represented by classes Bacilli and Flavobacteriia) dominated the sulfanilamide-degrading bacterial community.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361021, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
authors.forename: Bingxin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361021, China.
authors.forename: Rusen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. xiesg@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shuguang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Institute of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361021, China. blyuan@hqu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Baoling
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yuan
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D044822:Biodiversity; D001711:Biotransformation; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D000077145:Sulfanilamide; D013424:Sulfanilamides / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D013424:Sulfanilamides; D000077145:Sulfanilamide
keywords: Acclimation; Antibiotic; Bacterial community; Biodegradation; High-throughput sequencing