Manganese-oxidizing bacteria mediate the degradation of 17α-ethinylestradiol

Manganese (II) and manganese-oxidizing bacteria were used as an efficient biological system for the degradation of the xenoestrogen 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) at trace concentrations. Mn2+-derived higher oxidation states of Mn (Mn3+, Mn4+) by Mn2+-oxidizing bacteria mediate the oxidative cleavage of the polycyclic target compound EE2. The presence of manganese (II) was found to be essential for the degradation of EE2 by Leptothrix discophora, Pseudomonas putida MB1, P. putida MB6 and P. putida MB29. Mn2+-dependent degradation of EE2 was found to be a slow process, which requires multi-fold excess of Mn2+ and occurs in the late stationary phase of growth, implying a chemical process taking place. EE2-derived degradation products were shown to no longer exhibit undesirable estrogenic activity.