Abundances of triclosan-degrading microorganisms in activated sludge systems

Abstract

Triclosan is a synthetic antimicrobial agent used in numerous industrial and personal care products. Triclosan collected in wastewater treatment plants can be biodegraded up to 80%. However, little is studied about the abundances of known triclosan-degrading bacteria in activated sludge systems. A previous study reported that Sphingopyxis strain KCY1 isolated from activate sludge can cometabolically degrade triclosan. Recently, a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay specific to strain KCY1 has been developed. Thus, this study investigated the abundance of strain KCY1 in three different activated sludge wastewater treatments using a qPCR assay. Additionally, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), known as triclosan-degraders, and amoA gene were quantified. Strain KCY1 were detected in activated sludge samples from three different wastewater treatment plants. The concentrations of strain KCY1 and AOB were on the order of 105－106 gene copies/mL, while amoA gene concentration was on the order of 104gene copies/mL.