The recalcitrance of clofibric acid to microbial degradation

The presence of pharmaceutical compounds and their metabolites in aquatic systems has become a concern in the past few years due, in part, to their ubiquity in the environment. However, at present, the persistence and ecotoxicity of many of these compounds remains unknown. Clofibric acid is the acti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment 2008-01, Vol.I, p.273-278
Main Authors: Bonotto, D M, Caprioglio, L, Itoman, H K, Santilli, M, Tessari, B W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acid resistance
Acids
Alcaligenes
Alcaligenes denitrificans
Aquatic environment
Biodegradation
Cell culture
Clofibric acid
Contaminants
Flasks
Herbicides
Lipids
Mecoprop
Metabolites
Microbial degradation
Microorganisms
Pharmaceuticals
Rhodococcus rhodochrous
Soil contamination
Soil microorganisms
Sphingomonas
Sphingomonas herbicidovorans
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Summary:The presence of pharmaceutical compounds and their metabolites in aquatic systems has become a concern in the past few years due, in part, to their ubiquity in the environment. However, at present, the persistence and ecotoxicity of many of these compounds remains unknown. Clofibric acid is the active metabolite of clofibrate, a lipid regulator. It is detected in most aquatic systems where pharmaceutical contaminants are monitored and is reported to be persistent. (R)-mecoprop, a herbicide used on broad-leaved crops, is a structural isomer of clofibric acid. However, unlike clofibric acid, it can be degraded by at least some microorganisms including Sphingomonas herbicidovorans and Alcaligenes denitrificans. Biodegradation studies of both clofibric acid and its isomer mecoprop were performed by exposing the compounds to axenic cultures of microorganisms in shake flasks. While preliminary results revealed that clofibric acid was resistant to microbial degradation with several types of microorganisms, it was shown that Rhodococcus rhodochrous, a common soil microorganism, was capable of converting clofibric acid to clofibrate, its parent compound. Despite the fact that Sphingomonas herbicidovorans is capable of degrading (R)-mecoprop within a couple of days, results indicated that it is incapable of degrading clofibric acid under the same conditions. This suggests that the recalcitrance of clofibric acid is due to change in the position of a methyl group with respect to (R)-mecoprop.
ISSN:1746-448X
1743-3541
DOI:10.2495/WP080271