Identification and genome analysis of a novel 17β-estradiol degradation bacterium, Lysinibacillus sphaericus DH-B01

The natural estrogen 17β-estradiol (17β-E2) is a major endocrine disruptor. Accordingly, due to their frequent presence in global surface waters, prolonged exposure to estrogen-contaminated water may disrupt sexual development in animals. It has adverse effects on wildlife and humans. To date, the most effective strategy for estrogen removal from the environment is biodegradation using microorganisms. To this end, we isolated a strain of Lysinibacillus sphaericus, namely DH-B01, from a contraceptive factory in Beijing. The experimental results revealed that the bacterium has a high capacity to degrade estrogen, with a 17β-E2 degradation rate of about 97%, and produces the secondary metabolite estrone. In addition, a series of genes involved in steroid metabolism and stress response in L. sphaericus sp. DH-B01 were predicted, and several key genes with high similarity to those of other strains were subjected to sequence alignment to find their conserved regions. This is the first study of the ability of L. sphaericus strains to degrade estrogens and the degradation mechanism involved. This work advances the genomic study of estrogen-degrading strains and the study of bacterial estrogen degradation mechanisms. In this paper, a novel bacterial strain capable of degrading 17β-E2 was studied. L. sphaericus sp. DH-B01 can effectively degrade 17β-E2. During the degradation process, 17β-E2 can be gradually metabolized to a substance without estrogen activity. By analyzing the enzymatic reactions in the metabolic process, we found genes with high similarity to reported 17β-HSD. L. sphaericus sp. DH-B01 was found to degrade 17β-E2. There are many types of bacteria that are currently being studied for the degradation of estrogen, but L. sphaericus sp. DH-B01 is the only strain of L. sphaericus that has been shown to degrade estrogen. This work advances the genomic study of estrogen-degrading bacterial strains and the study of bacterial estrogen degradation mechanisms. Additionally, it explores the correlation between different L. sphaericus strains. The differences play an important role and further enrich the functionality and diversity of L. sphaericus strains. In subsequent studies, the specificity of L. sphaericus sp. DH-B01 can be applied to different environments for future environmental restoration.