How resistant is anammox biofilm against antibiotics: A special insight into anammox response towards fluoroquinolones
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Elevated concentrations of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in the water bodies are posing a serious threat to the aquatic microbiota and other organisms. In this context, anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria carry a great potential to degrade PhACs through their innate metabolic pathways. This study investigates the influence of short-term exposure to lower and higher concentrations (0.8 mg L −1 , 0.06 mg L −1 , respectively) of antibiotics on the anammox process under distinct operational conditions (starvation/non-starvation) in moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR). During batch operations that lasted for up to 6 h, the total nitrogen removal efficiency (TNRE) and total nitrogen conversion rate (TNCR) reached a maximum of 93 ± 5 % and 6.97 ± 1.30 mg N g −1 TSS d −1 , respectively. Evidently, at higher PhAC levels, the anammox process was active, and up to 75 % PhAC removal efficiency was obtained within 6 h of the batch cycle. Most importantly, the anammox biofilm effectively eliminated the PhACs compounds, i.e., ciprofloxacin (CIP), ofloxacin (OFL), and norfloxacin (NOR) present at higher (0.8 mg L −1 ) and lower (0.06 mg L −1 ) total PhACs (sum of CIP, NOR, OFL) concentrations. Furthermore, 16S rRNA sequencing analyses showed a mixture of nitrifying, denitrifying, and anammox bacterial commodities enriched on the carriers' surface with a high relative abundance of Candidatus Brocadia, primarily responsible for catalyzing the anammox process. This study showed the intricate relationship between PhAC concentrations, TNCR, and antibiotic elimination in the wastewater treatment, and the results obtained set up a new breakthrough in wastewater treatment. Future research should investigate the mechanisms that underlie the anammox biofilms' resistance to various types of PhACs and investigate the long-term stability and scalability of this process with real wastewater influents.
Source: Heliyon
Authors: Faysal-Al Mamun, Rohit Kumar, Kelvin Ugochukwu Anwuta, Sovik Das, Madis Jaagura, Koit Herodes, Tetyana Kyrpel, Agnieszka Fiszka Borzyszkowska, Anna Zielińska-Jurek, Zane Vincevica-Gaile, Juris Burlakovs, Andrey E. Krauklis, Mohamad Nor Azra, Md Salauddin, Jiexi Zhong, Taavo Tenno, Kai Bester, Ivar Zekker
Institutions: University of Tartu, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Gdańsk Medical University, Gdańsk University of Technology, University of Latvia, Riga Technical University, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, University College Dublin, Aarhus University, Aarhus University Centre for Water Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Pollution
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,100
OpenAlex ID: W4405531637