The Isolation and Characterization of Purgationimicrobium sucraloseivorans gen. nov. sp. nov., and Quisquiliimicrobium normanense gen. nov. sp. nov.: Two Novel Wastewater Microorganisms Capable of the Anaerobic Metabolism of Two Anthropogenic Contaminants

Abstract

As annual human production and intake of synthetic compounds surges alongside an evergrowingindustrialized world population, anthropogenic contaminants become harder to ignore. Some, like sucralose and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), are thought to be of concern due to the possibility of health impacts including genotoxicity. This is exacerbated by a resistance to degradation in the environment, leading to proliferation into waterways used for drinking water among other things. This research is centered around the physiological response from microbial communities such as those found in wastewater treatment plants which consistently encounter these compounds and focuses on the isolation and characterization of three strains of two novel bacterial species, 9ST and NTA5 of Purgationimicrobium sucraloseivorans gen. nov. sp. nov. and NTA1T of Quisquiliimicrobium normanense gen. nov. sp. nov., taken from wastewater enrichment media with sucralose or NTA as a sole carbon source. Comprehensive morphological, biochemical, and genetic analyses confirmed these organisms' classification within the Azonexaceae and Actinomycetaceae families, respectively. Identification of bacteria capable of metabolizing anthropogenic contaminants like these is a step towards understanding how microbial degradation takes place and if it might be a tool for bioremediation.