Norfloxacin degradation by Bacillus subtilis strains able to produce biosurfactants on a bioreactor scale

¹ Department of Environmental Microbiology, Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas, 40-844 Kossutha 6 Katowice, Poland
² Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-032 Jagielońska 28 Katowice, Poland
³ Department of Environmental Microbiology, Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas, Katowice, Poland

^* Corresponding author: jalowiecki@ietu.katowice.pl

Abstract

The discharge of antibiotics into the environment has become a major concern since this group of pharmaceuticals influence on microbial communities not only by its mode of action, but also because of the risk of a worldwide dispersal of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). Antibiotics residues have been found in various environments such as waters, sediments, and soils. Moreover, most WWTPs are not designed to treat such kind of pollutants, which remain incompletely removed. Currently, biodegradation processes which involved bacterial strains with increased degradation capabilities is one of the most promising technique. The aim of this study was to evaluate the norfloxacin biodegradation potential of the three Bacillus subtilis strains named T-1, T’-1 and I’-1a on a bioreactor scale. The aerobic degradation was conducted in a 5-liter bioreactor on minimal salts medium in co-metabolic culture supplemented with glucose. The degradation rate of norfloxacin was determined with the HPLC technique. The surface tension was determined using ring method in order to observe the changes in biosurfactants production. Also, the biofilm formation abilities of the bacteria with two quantitative methods, crystal violet (CV) method and TTC-based test and enzymes production were evaluated.