Abstract
Conjugated estrogens, such as 17β-estradiol-3-sulfate (E2-3S), can be released into aquatic environments through wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). There, they are microbiologically degraded into free estrogens, which can have harmful effects on aquatic wildlife. Here, the degradation of E2-3S in environmental samples taken upstream, downstream and at the effluent of a WWTP was assessed. Sediment and biofilm samples were enriched for E2-3S-degrading microorganisms, yielding a broad diversity of bacterial isolates, including known and novel degraders of estrogens. Since E2-3S-degrading bacteria were also isolated in the sample upstream of the WWTP, the WWTP does not influence the ability of the microbial community to degrade E2-3S.
Highlights
Estrogenic compounds such as 17β-estradiol (E2) and estrone (E1) can cause alterations in the endocrine system of vertebrates and fish (Hanselman et al 2003; Reddy et al 2005; Adeel et al 2017) in the aquatic environment
The results show that E2-3S degradation is present in all tested samples and that a broad diversity of predominantly well culturable organisms was involved in the degradation process
In the first enrichment step, we followed sulfate concentration as indication for substrate utilization in all cultures and E2-3S concentration in biofilm samples, whereas in later enrichment steps, we included E2-3S concentration for the other cultures (Fig. 1), as sediment particles were reduced after the first transfer
Summary
Estrogenic compounds such as 17β-estradiol (E2) and estrone (E1) can cause alterations in the endocrine system of vertebrates and fish (Hanselman et al 2003; Reddy et al 2005; Adeel et al 2017) in the aquatic environment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) were shown as an entry point into the environment of the estrogenic compounds like E2 and E1 (Khanal et al 2006; Ying et al 2009; Naldi et al 2016), and of conjugated estrogens, excreted by humans mainly in the urine, that can all enter the aquatic environment at low ng/L concentrations (D’Ascenzo et al 2003; Reddy et al 2005; Kumar et al 2012; Liu et al 2015; Ma et al 2016; Naldi et al 2016; Ben et al 2017; Ma and Yates 2018).Glucuronide- or sulfate-conjugated estrogens are more polar than the corresponding free estrogens (Anstead et al 1997; Fang et al 2001) and exhibit lower binding affinity for estrogen receptors rendering them biologically inactive (Desbrow et al 1998; Griffith et al 2014; Ma and Yates 2018). D’Ascenzo et al (2003) showed that glucuronide conjugates were
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
