Performance of Aerobic Denitrification by the Strain Pseudomonas balearica RAD-17 in the Presence of Antibiotics

Aerobic denitrification, one of the important nitrate metabolic pathways in biological denitrification, has been attracting increasing interest recently due to its functional advantages. In order to evaluate the effect of antibiotics on aerobic denitrification and guide practical engineering application of aerobic denitrification techniques, we evaluated the performance of aerobic denitrification by the strain Pseudomonas balearica RAD-17 in the presence of ciprofloxacin (CFX) and oxytetracycline (OTC). No significant negative impact on the performance of aerobic denitrification in the presence of CFX or OTC within the range of 50 to 300 mu g L-1 was found. Significant degradation of OTC was found within the range of 50 mu g L-1 to 300 mu g L-1 under aerobic denitrification conditions, while no degradation was found for CFX. Stimulation of cell growth occurred within the investigated range of antibiotics. Under anoxic or aerobic conditions, the addition of CFX or OTC changed the N2O production trend. The results in the present study may play an important role in informing the use of aerobic denitrification techniques in the presence of antibiotics within environmentally relevant concentrations (<1 mg/L).

Automated summary

The study found that the performance of aerobic denitrification was not significantly affected in the presence of ciprofloxacin and oxytetracycline, with oxytetracycline degrading significantly under aerobic denitrification conditions, while ciprofloxacin remained stable. Stimulation of cell growth was observed within the investigated range of antibiotics.