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Identification of triclosan-degrading bacteria in a triclosan enrichment culture using stable isotope probing

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Abstract

Triclosan, a widely used antimicrobial agent, is an emerging contaminant in the environment. Despite its antimicrobial character, biodegradation of triclosan has been observed in pure cultures, soils and activated sludge. However, little is known about the microorganisms responsible for the degradation in mixed cultures. In this study, active triclosan degraders in a triclosan-degrading enrichment culture were identified using stable isotope probing (SIP) with universally 13C-labeled triclosan. Eleven clones contributed from active microorganisms capable of uptake the 13C in triclosan were identified. None of these clones were similar to known triclosan-degraders/utilizers. These clones distributed among α-, β-, or γ-Proteobacteria: one belonging to Defluvibacter (α-Proteobacteria), seven belonging to Alicycliphilus (β-Proteobacteria), and three belonging to Stenotrophomonas (γ-Proteobacteria). Successive additions of triclosan caused a significant shift in the microbial community structure of the enrichment culture, with dominant ribotypes belonging to the genera Alicycliphilus and Defluvibacter. Application of SIP has successfully identified diverse uncultivable triclosan-degrading microorganisms in an activated sludge enrichment culture. The results of this study not only contributed to our understanding of the microbial ecology of triclosan biodegradation in wastewater, but also suggested that triclosan degraders are more phylogenetically diverse than previously reported.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Hyungkeun Roh for his assistance in the laboratory experiments. We also thank Mr. Doug Wallace for providing activated sludge used in this study.

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  1. Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 205G WERC, 3136 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-3136, USA

    Do Gyun Lee, Kun-Ching Cho & Kung-Hui Chu

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  1. Do Gyun Lee
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Correspondence to Kung-Hui Chu.

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Lee, D.G., Cho, KC. & Chu, KH. Identification of triclosan-degrading bacteria in a triclosan enrichment culture using stable isotope probing. Biodegradation 25, 55–65 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-013-9640-7

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