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Biodegradation and metabolic pathway of sulfamethoxazole by a novel strain Acinetobacter sp.

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

In this study, a novel strain capable of degrading sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was isolated and identified as Acinetobacter sp. The effect of influencing factors, such as initial SMX concentration (5–240 mg/L), temperature (15–35 °C), and pH (5–7), on SMX degradation was investigated. The results showed that when the initial SMX concentration was in the range of 5–240, the removal efficiency was 100%. The optimal condition for SMX biodegradation and microbial growth was determined to be 25 °C and pH = 7.0 in terms of the removal efficiencies of SMX and total organic carbon (TOC). Four metabolite compounds were detected during the process of SMX biodegradation, and the degradation pathways were tentatively proposed. In summary, Acinetobacter sp. was highly efficient in mineralizing SMX, which has the potential to be used for degrading SMX in water and wastewater.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51338005), the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT-13026), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017M610920).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, INET, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Shizong Wang & Jianlong Wang

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Radioactive Wastes Treatment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Jianlong Wang

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  1. Shizong Wang
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Correspondence to Jianlong Wang.

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Wang, S., Wang, J. Biodegradation and metabolic pathway of sulfamethoxazole by a novel strain Acinetobacter sp.. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 102, 425–432 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8562-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8562-4

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