Novel Bacterial Strains for Nonylphenol Removal in Water and Sewage Sludge: Insights from Gene Expression and Toxicity
4-Nonylphenols (4-NPs) are persistent endocrine disruptors frequently found in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and sewage sludge. This study evaluated the ability of eight bacterial strains that were isolated from sewage sludge to degrade 4-n-NP in an aqueous solution. <i>Bacillus...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Applied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6408 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849433813085585408 |
|---|---|
| author | Alba Lara-Moreno Inés Aguilar-Romero Fernando Madrid Jaime Villaverde Jorge D. Carlier Juan Luís Santos Esteban Alonso Esmeralda Morillo |
| author_facet | Alba Lara-Moreno Inés Aguilar-Romero Fernando Madrid Jaime Villaverde Jorge D. Carlier Juan Luís Santos Esteban Alonso Esmeralda Morillo |
| author_sort | Alba Lara-Moreno |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 4-Nonylphenols (4-NPs) are persistent endocrine disruptors frequently found in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and sewage sludge. This study evaluated the ability of eight bacterial strains that were isolated from sewage sludge to degrade 4-n-NP in an aqueous solution. <i>Bacillus safensis</i> CN12, <i>Shewanella putrefaciens</i> CN17, and <i>Alcaligenes faecalis</i> CN8 showed the highest degradation rates, removing 100%, 75%, and 74% of 4-n-NP (10 mg L⁻<sup>1</sup>), with DT<sub>50</sub> values of 0.90, 8.9, and 10.4 days, respectively. Despite the reduction in 4-n-NP concentrations, ecotoxicity assays revealed that the resulting transformation products (TPs) were more toxic than the parent compound. To investigate the potential degradation mechanisms, in silico and gene expression analyses were conducted on <i>B. safensis</i> CN12, revealing a significant upregulation of the multicopper oxidase gene, <i>cotA</i> (7.25-fold), and the ring-cleaving dioxygenase gene, <i>mhqO</i> (13.9-fold). Although the CN12 strain showed potential for mineralization based on gene expression studies, this was not observed in the aqueous solution. However, when 4-n-NP was adsorbed on sludge and treated with CN12 in the presence of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) as a bioavailability enhancer, mineralization reached up to 33%, indicating a synergistic effect with the native sludge microbiota. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-131fe61d0c4542e38ede2ec5fa6fa501 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-131fe61d0c4542e38ede2ec5fa6fa5012025-08-20T03:26:53ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-06-011512640810.3390/app15126408Novel Bacterial Strains for Nonylphenol Removal in Water and Sewage Sludge: Insights from Gene Expression and ToxicityAlba Lara-Moreno0Inés Aguilar-Romero1Fernando Madrid2Jaime Villaverde3Jorge D. Carlier4Juan Luís Santos5Esteban Alonso6Esmeralda Morillo7Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Seville, 41012 Seville, SpainInstitute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville, Department of Agrochemistry, Environmental Microbiology and Soil Conservation, Spanish National Research Council (IRNAS-CSIC), 41012 Seville, SpainInstitute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville, Department of Agrochemistry, Environmental Microbiology and Soil Conservation, Spanish National Research Council (IRNAS-CSIC), 41012 Seville, SpainInstitute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville, Department of Agrochemistry, Environmental Microbiology and Soil Conservation, Spanish National Research Council (IRNAS-CSIC), 41012 Seville, SpainCentre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, Gambelas Campus, Building 7, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalDepartment of Analytical Chemistry, University of Seville, Virgen de África, 7, 41011 Seville, SpainDepartment of Analytical Chemistry, University of Seville, Virgen de África, 7, 41011 Seville, SpainInstitute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville, Department of Agrochemistry, Environmental Microbiology and Soil Conservation, Spanish National Research Council (IRNAS-CSIC), 41012 Seville, Spain4-Nonylphenols (4-NPs) are persistent endocrine disruptors frequently found in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and sewage sludge. This study evaluated the ability of eight bacterial strains that were isolated from sewage sludge to degrade 4-n-NP in an aqueous solution. <i>Bacillus safensis</i> CN12, <i>Shewanella putrefaciens</i> CN17, and <i>Alcaligenes faecalis</i> CN8 showed the highest degradation rates, removing 100%, 75%, and 74% of 4-n-NP (10 mg L⁻<sup>1</sup>), with DT<sub>50</sub> values of 0.90, 8.9, and 10.4 days, respectively. Despite the reduction in 4-n-NP concentrations, ecotoxicity assays revealed that the resulting transformation products (TPs) were more toxic than the parent compound. To investigate the potential degradation mechanisms, in silico and gene expression analyses were conducted on <i>B. safensis</i> CN12, revealing a significant upregulation of the multicopper oxidase gene, <i>cotA</i> (7.25-fold), and the ring-cleaving dioxygenase gene, <i>mhqO</i> (13.9-fold). Although the CN12 strain showed potential for mineralization based on gene expression studies, this was not observed in the aqueous solution. However, when 4-n-NP was adsorbed on sludge and treated with CN12 in the presence of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) as a bioavailability enhancer, mineralization reached up to 33%, indicating a synergistic effect with the native sludge microbiota.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6408nonylphenolbiodegradationmineralizationsewage sludge<i>Bacillus safensis</i>cyclodextrins |
| spellingShingle | Alba Lara-Moreno Inés Aguilar-Romero Fernando Madrid Jaime Villaverde Jorge D. Carlier Juan Luís Santos Esteban Alonso Esmeralda Morillo Novel Bacterial Strains for Nonylphenol Removal in Water and Sewage Sludge: Insights from Gene Expression and Toxicity Applied Sciences nonylphenol biodegradation mineralization sewage sludge <i>Bacillus safensis</i> cyclodextrins |
| title | Novel Bacterial Strains for Nonylphenol Removal in Water and Sewage Sludge: Insights from Gene Expression and Toxicity |
| title_full | Novel Bacterial Strains for Nonylphenol Removal in Water and Sewage Sludge: Insights from Gene Expression and Toxicity |
| title_fullStr | Novel Bacterial Strains for Nonylphenol Removal in Water and Sewage Sludge: Insights from Gene Expression and Toxicity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Novel Bacterial Strains for Nonylphenol Removal in Water and Sewage Sludge: Insights from Gene Expression and Toxicity |
| title_short | Novel Bacterial Strains for Nonylphenol Removal in Water and Sewage Sludge: Insights from Gene Expression and Toxicity |
| title_sort | novel bacterial strains for nonylphenol removal in water and sewage sludge insights from gene expression and toxicity |
| topic | nonylphenol biodegradation mineralization sewage sludge <i>Bacillus safensis</i> cyclodextrins |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6408 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT albalaramoreno novelbacterialstrainsfornonylphenolremovalinwaterandsewagesludgeinsightsfromgeneexpressionandtoxicity AT inesaguilarromero novelbacterialstrainsfornonylphenolremovalinwaterandsewagesludgeinsightsfromgeneexpressionandtoxicity AT fernandomadrid novelbacterialstrainsfornonylphenolremovalinwaterandsewagesludgeinsightsfromgeneexpressionandtoxicity AT jaimevillaverde novelbacterialstrainsfornonylphenolremovalinwaterandsewagesludgeinsightsfromgeneexpressionandtoxicity AT jorgedcarlier novelbacterialstrainsfornonylphenolremovalinwaterandsewagesludgeinsightsfromgeneexpressionandtoxicity AT juanluissantos novelbacterialstrainsfornonylphenolremovalinwaterandsewagesludgeinsightsfromgeneexpressionandtoxicity AT estebanalonso novelbacterialstrainsfornonylphenolremovalinwaterandsewagesludgeinsightsfromgeneexpressionandtoxicity AT esmeraldamorillo novelbacterialstrainsfornonylphenolremovalinwaterandsewagesludgeinsightsfromgeneexpressionandtoxicity |