Endocrine disruptors are potential environmental contaminants that can cause toxicity
in aquatic ecosystems, so the Water Framework Directive has established limits for
these compounds. During our research, 41 bacterial strains were isolated and identified
from sewage effluent and tested for their degradation capacities for bisphenol A,
17β-estradiol, and nonylphenol. All the isolated bacteria belonged to the Gammaproteobacteria
class of Pseudomonadota phylum (members of Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Escherichia,
Klebsiella, Kluyvera, Leclercia, Raoultella, Shigella. Acinetobacter, Aeromonas ,
and Pseudomonas genera). During the experiments, only strains HF17, HF18 ( Pseudomonas
aeruginosa ), and HF31 ( Citrobacter freundii ) were unable to grow on these compounds,
all other bacterial strains could grow in the presence of the investigated endocrine
disruptors. Based on the genomic analysis of the type strains, a set of genes involving
aromatic compound degradation was detected, among the peripheral metabolic pathways,
the quinate and benzoate degradation pathways proved to be widespread, among the central
aromatic intermediates metabolism, the catechol branch of the beta-ketoadipate pathway
was the most dominant. Pseudomonas fulva HF16 strain could utilize the investigated
endocrine disruptors: bisphenol A by 34%, 17β-estradiol by 52%, and nonylphenol by
54%.
