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Copper helps a soil yeast break down farm antibiotic pollution

PubMed · 2026-09-21

A yeast found in the environment breaks down the livestock antibiotic sulfamerazine far better when copper is also present, removing 54% in five days versus under 10% without copper. The work shows how microbes can be used to clean up farm runoff and soil contaminated with both antibiotics and metals.

1

With 10 mg/L copper and 1 mg/L sulfamerazine, Sakaguchia cladiensis A5 removed up to 54.1% of the antibiotic in 5 days, versus under 10% with the antibiotic alone.

2

Proteomics showed reprogramming of membrane transport, hydrolase and oxidoreductase functions, oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid metabolism and stress-response pathways; flow cytometry showed changes in membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, oxidative signals and esterase activity.

3

Fifteen tentative breakdown products supported four proposed degradation pathways, including pyrimidine-ring cleavage, amino hydroxylation, SO2 extrusion with Smiles-type rearrangement, and sulfonyl S-N bond cleavage with oxidative ring opening.

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