Degradation of Bisphenol S by a Bacterial Consortium Enriched from River Sediments

The widespread use of bisphenol S (BPS) as a bisphenol A substitute increases its potential of release into the aquatic environments. However, the degradation of BPS in aquatic systems is largely unknown, which will dictate its fate and toxicity. In this study, a bacterial consortium was enriched from river sediments and the dynamic changes of community structure during bacterial acclimation were studied. BPS degrading bacterial strains isolated from the consortium were identified by 16S rRNA analysis. The efficiency of the consortium and strains for BPS degradation were further evaluated. After 28 days of acclimation, the microbial diversity decreased significantly and four bacterial genera Hyphomicrobium, Pandoraea, Rhodococcus, and Cupriavidus with relative abundances of 5.1%-52.8% became dominant in the consortium. Total of two pure strains including Terrimonas pekingensis and Pseudomonas sp. were isolated from the consortium, using BPS as the sole carbon source. The consortium was highly efficient to degrade BPS, and 99% of BPS with an initial concentration of 50 mg/L was removed within 10 days at pH 7 and 30°C. In comparison with the consortium, a single strain cultures had lower BPS degradation efficiency. These findings indicate that BPS will degrade rapidly under aerobic conditions in river sediments and have implication for BPS-contaminated site remediation using the enriched consortium.