Biodegradation of 17-estradiol by drug-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia MN08 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa KL10 isolated from the sediment sample

17 beta-Estradiol is produced by animals, and humans and excreted through excreta, and has endocrine -disrupting activity. Bacterial degradation is one of the suitable methods used for the removal of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) from the natural environment. In this study, E2 -degrading bacteria were screened from the enriched sediment sample from the wastewater environment. Two bacterial strains of E2 -degrading bacteria (Stenotrophomonas maltophilia MN08 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa KL10) were determined and >70% of E2 -degradation was achieved. The strain MN08 could rapidly remove approximately 86.5% +/- 1.3% of E2 within 7 days of treatment. In addition, the strain KL10 removed 79.5% +/- 1% of E2 within the same period. Optimized culture temperature and pH of the medium could improve E2 -degradation. The results demonstrated that the strain MN08 exhibited maximum E2 -degradation activity at 35 degrees C, and pH 8.0. The optimal pH for strain KL10 to degrade E2 ranged from 7.0 to 9.0. The E2 -degradation level for the mixture culture systems can exhibit synergistic E2 -degradation activity. The degradation of the MN08 and KL10 individual strains was 87.3% +/- 1.2% and 81.4% +/- 1.5%, respectively. The E2 -degradation potential for the mixed culture system was 91.3% +/- 2.9% under optimized conditions in which 100 mg/L of E2 served as the sole source of carbon and energy. The present finding demonstrates that the co -culture of S. maltophilia MN08 and P. aeruginosa KL10 may provide a promising bio-treatment strategy for the removal of steroids from wastewater.