15Organic micropollutants (OMPs) are pervasive anthropogenic contaminants of fresh and 16 marine waters with known potential to adversely affect aquatic life (e.g. endocrine disruption).
17Their ubiquitous environmental occurrence is primarily attributed to wastewater treatment 18 plant discharges following their incomplete removal by common biological treatment 19 processes. This study assesses a new strategy for promoting the degradation of six model OMPs 20 (i.e. sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, tylosin, atrazine, naproxen and ibuprofen) by 21 stimulating microbial oxidoreductase production to counter the effects of oxidative stress 22 caused by oxygen perturbation. Microbial cultures from dairy farm wastewater were exposed 23 to a cyclical ON-OFF perturbations of oxygen supply, ranging from 0.16 to 2 cycles per hour 24 (i.e. 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25 and 0.16 cycles/hour), in laboratory bioreactors. The activity and relative 25 abundances of microbial oxidoreductases (such as peroxidases, cytochromes P450) were 26 upregulated by oxygen perturbation. In comparison to controls subjected to constant oxygen 27 levels, OMP concentrations in perturbed cultures decreased by 70±9% (mean ± SD). A 28 distance-based linear model confirmed strong positive correlations between the relative 29 abundance of the bacterial families, Rhodocyclaceae, Syntrophaceae and 30 Syntrophobacteraceae, and oxygen perturbations. Our results confirm that intentional 31 perturbation of oxygen supply to induce microbial oxidative stress can improve OMP removal 32 efficiencies in wastewater treatment bioreactors. 33 Microbial communities | Oxidoreductase activity | Bioreactor aeration regime | Wastewater 34 OMPs removal 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Significance 46 47Oxygen concentration is a critical control variable for biological processes in conventional 48 wastewater treatment systems. We provide a simple approach that could be used in existing 49 wastewater treatment infrastructure to enhance removals of otherwise persistent OMPs by 50 exploiting oxidative stress responses of microbes. Our study illustrates the ability of fluctuating 51 oxygen conditions to affect microbial activity and polulation by upregulating oxidoreductases 52 linked to the removal of organic micropollutants. The incorporation of inexpensive and easy to 53 implement dissolved oxygen supply strategies for more efficient OMPs biotransformation 54 provides a realistic approach to improving the treatment performance of biological processes.
56Because of their resistance to conventional wastewater treatment and environmental 60 persistence as complex mixtures, these organic micropollutants (OMPs) present risks of 61 adverse ecological impact to biota via direct toxicity and endocrine disruption (4-6). For 62 example, occurrence of the herbicide, atrazine, even at concentrations below 6 µg/L in 63 receiving waters, caused behavioural changes in the zebrafish, Brachydanio rerio, such as a 64 preference for dark habitats and alterations in swimming due to failure of its nervou...