Pollutant profile complexity governs wastewater removal of recalcitrant pharmaceuticals

Type
01A - Journal article
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Parent work
ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology
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DOI of the original publication
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Volume
18
Issue / Number
1
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Nature
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Abstract
Organic pollutants are an increasing threat for wildlife and humans. Managing their removal is however complicated by the difficulties in predicting degradation rates. In this work, we demonstrate that the complexity of the pollutant profile, the set of co-existing contaminants, is a major driver of biodegradation in wastewater. We built representative assemblages out of one to five common pharmaceuticals (caffeine, atenolol, paracetamol, ibuprofen, and enalapril) selected along a gradient of biodegradability. We followed their individual removal by wastewater microbial communities. The presence of multichemical background pollution was essential for the removal of recalcitrant molecules such as ibuprofen. High-order interactions between multiple pollutants drove removal efficiency. We explain these interactions by shifts in the microbiome, with degradable molecules such as paracetamol enriching species and pathways involved in the removal of several organic pollutants. We conclude that pollutants should be treated as part of a complex system, with emerging pollutants potentially showing cascading effects and offering leverage to promote bioremediation.
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ISSN
1751-7362
1751-7370
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
Gold
License
'https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'
Citation
Suleiman, M., Le Lay, N., Demaria, F., Kolvenbach, B., Cretoiu, M., Petchey, O., Jousset, A., & Corvini, P. (2024). Pollutant profile complexity governs wastewater removal of recalcitrant pharmaceuticals. ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wrae033