Pollutant profile complexity governs wastewater removal of recalcitrant pharmaceuticals

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The ISME Journal 2024-01, Vol.18 (1)
Main Authors: Suleiman, Marcel, Le Lay, Natalie, Demaria, Francesca, Kolvenbach, Boris A, Cretoiu, Mariana S, Petchey, Owen L, Jousset, Alexandre, Corvini, Philippe F-X
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetaminophen
Biodegradation, Environmental
Environmental Pollutants
Humans
Ibuprofen
Original
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Wastewater
Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1751-7362
1751-7370
DOI:10.1093/ismejo/wrae033