Biodegradation and metabolic pathway of sulfamethoxazole by a novel strain Acinetobacter sp.

In this study, a novel strain capable of degrading sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was isolated and identified as Acinetobacter sp. The effect of influencing factors, such as initial SMX concentration (5–240 mg/L), temperature (15–35 °C), and pH (5–7), on SMX degradation was investigated. The results showed that when the initial SMX concentration was in the range of 5–240, the removal efficiency was 100%. The optimal condition for SMX biodegradation and microbial growth was determined to be 25 °C and pH = 7.0 in terms of the removal efficiencies of SMX and total organic carbon (TOC). Four metabolite compounds were detected during the process of SMX biodegradation, and the degradation pathways were tentatively proposed. In summary, Acinetobacter sp. was highly efficient in mineralizing SMX, which has the potential to be used for degrading SMX in water and wastewater.