Journal of Fungi (Sep 2022)

Biotransformation of the Fluoroquinolone, Levofloxacin, by the White-Rot Fungus <i>Coriolopsis gallica</i>

  • Amal Ben Ayed,
  • Imen Akrout,
  • Quentin Albert,
  • Stéphane Greff,
  • Charlotte Simmler,
  • Jean Armengaud,
  • Mélodie Kielbasa,
  • Annick Turbé-Doan,
  • Delphine Chaduli,
  • David Navarro,
  • Emmanuel Bertrand,
  • Craig B. Faulds,
  • Mohamed Chamkha,
  • Amina Maalej,
  • Héla Zouari-Mechichi,
  • Giuliano Sciara,
  • Tahar Mechichi,
  • Eric Record

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8090965
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 9
p. 965

Abstract

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The wastewater from hospitals, pharmaceutical industries and more generally human and animal dejections leads to environmental releases of antibiotics that cause severe problems for all living organisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the capacity of three fungal strains to biotransform the fluoroquinolone levofloxacin. The degradation processes were analyzed in solid and liquid media. Among the three fungal strains tested, Coriolopsis gallica strain CLBE55 (BRFM 3473) showed the highest removal efficiency, with a 15% decrease in antibiogram zone of inhibition for Escherichia coli cultured in solid medium and 25% degradation of the antibiotic in liquid medium based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Proteomic analysis suggested that laccases and dye-decolorizing peroxidases such as extracellular enzymes could be involved in levofloxacin degradation, with a putative major role for laccases. Degradation products were proposed based on mass spectrometry analysis, and annotation suggested that the main product of biotransformation of levofloxacin by Coriolopsis gallica is an N-oxidized derivative.

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