Co-metabolism and photodegradation are two approaches for remediating trace organic compounds (TOrCs), however, interactions between the two with regards to TOrCs degradation have not been elucidated. In this study, sulfadiazine (SDZ) was chosen as a representative TOrC and Methylocystis bryophila as a typical strain. Under light conditions, about 80.6% of SDZ was removed by M. bryophila, but only 7.6% or 28.9% of SDZ was eliminated by either individual photodegradation or by co-metabolism. The SDZ stimulated more extracellular organic matter (EOM) production by M. bryophila. The enhanced SDZ degradation was attributed to indirect photolysis caused by the excited triplet state of EOM (3EOM*) and co-metabolism. The UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis showed that due to co-metabolism, the pyrimidine ring was broken and could further be oxidized into smaller molecules under light conditions, such as formic and acetic acids. The SDZ mineralization ratio increased from 9.9% under the co-metabolic condition alone to 36.5% under co-metabolism coupled with photodegradation. The Ames tests confirmed that the SDZ degradation products by co-metabolism were mutagenic, however, their toxicity was ameliorated by light during co-metabolism. In conclusion, light plays a crucial role in co-metabolic processes of TOrCs.
Keywords: Co-metabolism; Mineralization; Mutagenicity; Photodegradation; Trace organic compounds.
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