Sewage bacterium breaks down antibiotics and excess nitrogen together
Li JY, Cui YW, Sui Y, Yan JT, Gu XY
Soil Health
The nitrogen cycling this bacterium performs, converting ammonia and nitrate into harmless forms, is the same underground chemistry your compost pile and garden soil microbes rely on to keep plant roots fed without toxic buildup.
Researchers found a bacterium called Klebsiella oxytoca TY living in wastewater treatment plants that can eat the antibiotic amoxicillin while breaking down nitrogen pollution at the same time. It has a special enzyme that cuts apart the antibiotic's chemical structure, and it handles different nitrogen forms with near-total efficiency, offering a possible tool for cleaning up water before it re-enters rivers, farms, or gardens.
Key Findings
The bacterium removed 100% of ammonium nitrogen, 90.6% of nitrate, and 73.4% of nitrite when tested separately.
It degraded 64.56% of amoxicillin through biodegradation while simultaneously removing 92.78% of ammonium nitrogen with no toxic nitrate or nitrite buildup.
Genome analysis identified a unique beta-lactamase gene (blaOXY) responsible for breaking the antibiotic's core ring structures.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered a bacterium living in wastewater treatment plants that can break down amoxicillin, a common antibiotic polluting our water, while also cleaning up excess nitrogen at the same time.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
A heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification strain capable of antibiotic degradation: From function to mechanism.
Amoxicillin is one of the most prevalent antibiotics found in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). It remains unknown which species of microorganisms in WWTPs can degrade amoxicillin. In this study...
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