How resistant is anammox biofilm against antibiotics: A special insight into anammox response towards fluoroquinolones
Faysal-Al Mamun,
Rohit Kumar,
Kelvin Ugochukwu Anwuta,
Sovik Das,
Madis Jaagura,
Koit Herodes,
Tetyana Kyrpel,
Agnieszka Fiszka Borzyszkowska,
Anna Zielińska-Jurek,
Zane Vincevica-Gaile,
Juris Burlakovs,
Andrey E. Krauklis,
Mohamad Nor Azra,
Md Salauddin,
Jiexi Zhong,
Taavo Tenno,
Kai Bester,
Ivar Zekker
Affiliations
Faysal-Al Mamun
Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, 14a Ravila St., 50411, Tartu, Estonia
Rohit Kumar
Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, 14a Ravila St., 50411, Tartu, Estonia
Kelvin Ugochukwu Anwuta
Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, 14a Ravila St., 50411, Tartu, Estonia
Sovik Das
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110 016, India
Madis Jaagura
Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Riia 23b, Tartu, 51010, Estonia
Koit Herodes
Institute of Chemistry, Chair of Analytics, University of Tartu, 14a Ravila St., 50411, Tartu, Estonia
Tetyana Kyrpel
Institute of Chemistry, Chair of Analytics, University of Tartu, 14a Ravila St., 50411, Tartu, Estonia
Agnieszka Fiszka Borzyszkowska
Department of Environmental Toxicology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Gdansk, Dębowa Str. 23A, 80-204, Gdansk, Poland
Anna Zielińska-Jurek
Department of Process Engineering and Chemical Technology, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
Zane Vincevica-Gaile
Department of Environmental Science, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Street 1, LV-1004, Riga, Latvia
Juris Burlakovs
Faculty of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Riga Technical University, LV-1048, Riga, Latvia
Andrey E. Krauklis
ASEMlab – Laboratory of Advanced and Sustainable Engineering Materials, Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering, NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2815, Gjøvik, Norway
Mohamad Nor Azra
Institute of Climate Adaptation and Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
Md Salauddin
UCD Dooge Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland
Jiexi Zhong
Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, 4000, Denmark
Taavo Tenno
Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, 14a Ravila St., 50411, Tartu, Estonia
Kai Bester
Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, 4000, Denmark; WATEC – Centre for Water Technology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark; Corresponding author. Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, 14a Ravila St., 50411, Tartu, Estonia.
Ivar Zekker
Institute of Chemistry, University of Tartu, 14a Ravila St., 50411, Tartu, Estonia; Corresponding author.
Elevated concentrations of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in the water bodies are posing a serious threat to the aquatic microbiota and other organisms. In this context, anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria carry a great potential to degrade PhACs through their innate metabolic pathways. This study investigates the influence of short-term exposure to lower and higher concentrations (0.8 mg L−1, 0.06 mg L−1, respectively) of antibiotics on the anammox process under distinct operational conditions (starvation/non-starvation) in moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR). During batch operations that lasted for up to 6 h, the total nitrogen removal efficiency (TNRE) and total nitrogen conversion rate (TNCR) reached a maximum of 93 ± 5 % and 6.97 ± 1.30 mg N g−1 TSS d−1, respectively. Evidently, at higher PhAC levels, the anammox process was active, and up to 75 % PhAC removal efficiency was obtained within 6 h of the batch cycle. Most importantly, the anammox biofilm effectively eliminated the PhACs compounds, i.e., ciprofloxacin (CIP), ofloxacin (OFL), and norfloxacin (NOR) present at higher (0.8 mg L−1) and lower (0.06 mg L−1) total PhACs (sum of CIP, NOR, OFL) concentrations. Furthermore, 16S rRNA sequencing analyses showed a mixture of nitrifying, denitrifying, and anammox bacterial commodities enriched on the carriers' surface with a high relative abundance of Candidatus Brocadia, primarily responsible for catalyzing the anammox process. This study showed the intricate relationship between PhAC concentrations, TNCR, and antibiotic elimination in the wastewater treatment, and the results obtained set up a new breakthrough in wastewater treatment. Future research should investigate the mechanisms that underlie the anammox biofilms' resistance to various types of PhACs and investigate the long-term stability and scalability of this process with real wastewater influents.
