Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Control Technology, High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, PR China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, PR China.
Anhui Shunyu Water Co., Ltd, Hefei, Anhui, 231100, PR China.
J Environ Manage. 2024 Nov;370:122512. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122512. Epub 2024 Sep 14.
The escalating occurrence of the antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in the environment presents a significant global threat to ecological systems and human health. Despite the growing interest in using microalgae for antibiotic biodegradation, strategies to enhance SMX elimination remain underexplored. In this study, we isolated a novel aggregation-algae consortium (AAC) from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and examined its potential for SMX removal, optimized culture conditions, SMX metabolite fate and the physicochemical impact on microalgal cells. The findings revealed that the AAC demonstrated remarkable resistance to SMX, even at concentrations as high as 10 mg/L, and could degrade SMX via free radical reactions. Although ion repulsion limited the biodegradation of AAC, the addition of peptone and yeast extract resulted in a significant enhancement, increased by 16.71%, 39.12% and 46.77% of three SMX groups. Moreover, AAC exhibited exceptional adaptability in real wastewater, achieving removal of 87.05%, 97.39% and 20.80% for total dissolved nitrogen, total dissolved phosphorus and SMX, respectively. The decreased degradation toxicity of SMX following AAC treatment was further validated by ECOSAR software and in vitro tests using Caenorhabditis elegans. This study advanced our understanding of SMX biodegradation and provided a novel approach for treating wastewater contaminated with SMX.
磺胺甲恶唑（SMX）在环境中不断增加的出现对生态系统和人类健康构成了重大的全球威胁。尽管人们越来越感兴趣地利用微藻进行抗生素生物降解，但增强 SMX 消除的策略仍未得到充分探索。在这项研究中，我们从城市污水处理厂（WWTP）中分离出一种新型的聚集体藻类联合体（AAC），并研究了其去除 SMX 的潜力、优化培养条件、SMX 代谢物命运以及对微藻细胞的物理化学影响。研究结果表明，AAC 对 SMX 表现出显著的抗性，即使在高达 10mg/L 的浓度下也能降解 SMX 通过自由基反应。尽管离子排斥限制了 AAC 的生物降解，但添加蛋白胨和酵母提取物可显著提高 SMX 三组的降解率，分别提高了 16.71%、39.12%和 46.77%。此外，AAC 在实际废水中表现出出色的适应性，分别去除总溶解氮、总溶解磷和 SMX 的去除率为 87.05%、97.39%和 20.80%。AAC 处理后 SMX 的降解毒性降低进一步通过 ECOSAR 软件和使用秀丽隐杆线虫的体外试验得到了验证。这项研究增进了我们对 SMX 生物降解的理解，并为处理含有 SMX 的废水提供了一种新方法。
