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Isolation, Immobilization, and Degradation Performance of the 17β-Estradiol-Degrading Bacterium Rhodococcus sp. JX-2

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Abstract

As major endocrine disruptors, natural estrogens such as 17β-estradiol (E2) have been found with adverse effects on animals and humans. How to control E2 pollution as well as that of other estrogens in the environment is a worldwide concern. A novel E2-degrading bacterium (strain JX-2) was isolated from the activated sludge of a sewage treatment plant and was identified as Rhodococcus sp. Strain JX-2 grew well and metabolized up to 94 % of the substrate E2 added (30 mg L−1) within 7 days at 30 °C. The optimal environmental conditions for E2 degradation by JX-2 were pH 7.0 and 30 °C. Strain JX-2 was immobilized in sodium alginate. The optimal conditions for strain JX-2 immobilization were 4 % sodium alginate, 1:1 bacteria/sodium alginate ratio, 5 % CaCl2⋅2H2O, and 6 h crosslinking time. The degradation performance of immobilized strain JX-2 was apparently superior to that of the free strain, particularly under pH <6.0 or >8.0 either below 20 or above 35 °C. Immobilized strain JX-2 removed E2 in natural sewage and cow dung with removal efficiency of more than 64 and 81 %, respectively. This is the first report of utilizing immobilized bacteria to remove estrogens in sewage and livestock manure. The results suggest that strain JX-2 could be used to remove E2 from the environment efficiently.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51278252, 21477056), Research Project of Environmental Protection in Jiangsu Province, China (2015023), and Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Plan, China (BE2015682).

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    1. Institute of Organic Contaminant Control and Soil Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

      Jingxian Liu, Juan Liu, Wanting Ling & Shunyao Li

    2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

      Defu Xu & Mindong Chen

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    1. Jingxian Liu
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    Correspondence to Wanting Ling or Mindong Chen.

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    Jingxian Liu and Juan Liu contributed equally to this work.

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    Liu, J., Liu, J., Xu, D. et al. Isolation, Immobilization, and Degradation Performance of the 17β-Estradiol-Degrading Bacterium Rhodococcus sp. JX-2. Water Air Soil Pollut 227, 422 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-3122-6

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