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Microbial degradation of sulfamethoxazole in the environment

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Abstract

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is one of the most widely applied sulfonamide antibiotics in the world, which is becoming a ubiquitous pollutant in the environment. In this mini-review, the microbial degradation of SMX was briefly reviewed. The performance of the conventional wastewater treatment plants in removing SMX was provided. The microorganisms capable of degrading SMX, including mixed cultures and pure cultures, were presented. The effects of environmental conditions such as temperature, pH, initial SMX concentration, and additional carbon sources on the biodegradation of SMX were discussed. The metabolic pathways of SMX degradation were summarized. Finally, the suggestions were made for further studies.

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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. Laboratory of Environmental Technology, INET, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Jianlong Wang & Shizong Wang

  2. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Jianlong Wang

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

    Jianlong Wang & Shizong Wang

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Wang, J., Wang, S. Microbial degradation of sulfamethoxazole in the environment. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 102, 3573–3582 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-8845-4

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