Degradation of tetracycline antibiotics by Arthrobacter nicotianae OTC-16.

Shi Y

Shi Y(1), Lin H(2), Ma J(3), Zhu R(4), Sun W(5), Lin X(6), Zhang J(7), Zheng H(8), Zhang X(9).
Author information:
(1)College of Forest and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China; The Institute of Environment, Resources, Soil and Fertilizers, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(2)The Institute of Environment, Resources, Soil and Fertilizers, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(3)The Institute of Environment, Resources, Soil and Fertilizers, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(4)College of Forest and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China; The Institute of Environment, Resources, Soil and Fertilizers, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(5)The Institute of Environment, Resources, Soil and Fertilizers, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(6)China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(7)The Institute of Environment, Resources, Soil and Fertilizers, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(8)College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(9)College of Forest and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China. Electronic address: [Email]

https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123996

Microbial degradation is an important option for combating antibiotic pollution. Arthrobacter nicotianae OTC-16 was isolated as a novel tetracycline-degrading bacterium, which could degrade oxytetracycline/tetracycline (OTC/TET). Toxicity assessment indicated that this bacterium effectively converted OTC into byproducts with less toxicity to bacterial and algal indicators. Six degradation products of OTC were tentatively identified, and a potential biotransformation pathway was proposed that includes decarbonylation, reduction, and dehydration. Bioaugmentation of TC removal with this bacterium was further studied in various matrices. In aqueous media, strain OTC-16 accelerated OTC removal over a temperature range of 20-35 ℃, pH range of 6.0-9.0, and OTC concentration range of 25-150 mg L-1. The strain also facilitated the decrease of OTC and TET concentrations in both swine and chicken manures, with a maximum decrease of 91.54%, and increased the degradation of OTC in soils by 8.22-45.45%. A unique advantage of this bacterium in promoting OTC degradation in alkaline environments was demonstrated, where it successfully competed with the indigenous microbiota and largely decreased the relative abundances of the studied tetracycline resistance genes (tetB and tetW) in soil. This work offers a better understanding of the antibiotic bioaugmentation and new microbial sources.