| NSF Org: |
CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | August 6, 2014 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 6, 2014 |
| Award Number: | 1438578 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Karl Rockne
krockne@nsf.gov (703)292-7293 CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2014 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $165,004.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $165,004.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
615 W 131ST ST NEW YORK NY US 10027-7922 (212)854-6851 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
NY US 10027-6902 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | EnvE-Environmental Engineering |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
1438578
Chandran
1438221
Ramsburg
The widespread occurrence and environmental impacts of microconstituents has received increasing attention in recent years. An important class of microconstituents is pharmaceutically active compounds. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests chronic exposure to pharmaceutically active compounds, even at extremely low concentrations could have adverse effects on ecosystems, such as impaired embryo development, modified feeding and social behavior of fish, suppression of growth and reduction in respiration in algae. While some of these effects are reversible, other anatomical, physiological, and genetic alterations are permanent. Thus, the challenge of assessing, understanding, and mitigating the deleterious influence of pharmaceutically active compounds, and microconstituents more broadly, on the environment is one of the great challenges facing the environmental engineering and science community. Current approaches to study pharmaceutically active compounds fate in biological wastewater treatment generally lack a mechanistic basis and therefore cannot unambiguously pinpoint the protagonist microbial communities and metabolic pathways that are active in the removal of pharmaceutically active compounds. This leads to a lack of consensus regarding the identity of active species and critical attenuation processes. To unravel the conundrum of complexity and site specific results, the PIs propose a fundamental approach to understanding the fate of pharmaceutically active compounds - one that can guide future research and implementation efforts. This project aims to develop a clear understanding of the microbial "active fraction" in activated sludge which is responsible for the transformation and removal of pharmaceutically active compounds, and to elucidate the constituent metabolic pathways. A secondary objective is to quantify and differentiate between growth associated (linked to anabolism) and non-growth associated (linked to catabolism or fortuitous reactions) pharmaceutically active compounds transformation and degradation. Understanding the interplay of microbial processes acting on contaminants of emerging concern is critical to meeting the scientific challenges now facing water quality researchers and professionals. The approach to understanding these processes offered in the proposed research may seed future scientific investigations aimed at understanding biodegradation mechanisms throughout the environment.
The influence of anthropogenic chemical mixtures present within the environment at low concentration is one of the great challenges facing scientists and engineers in the 21st century. Effective wastewater treatment is critical to maintaining water quality, but what is traditionally thought of as effective may need to also include microconstituents - compounds that these facilities were never specifically designed to treat. This study will further the development and application of advanced microbial-ecological techniques to shed new light on how bacteria within activated sludge interact with pharmaceutically active compounds. The advanced understanding enabled by these state-of-the-art molecular tools can be extended to interrogate pharmaceutically active compound metabolism in different activated sludge configurations. Further, the knowledge of the "active fraction" and metabolic pathways can help improve standardized protocols that can be used by future studies to estimate the extant biokinetic parameters and to construct more accurate predictive models for pharmaceutically active compounds removal. From a fundamental perspective, there is no metabolic model to date, that can describe pharmaceutically active compounds degradation pathways. This is possibly due to a lack of detailed studies related to understanding the mechanisms by which pharmaceutically active compounds are biodegraded within mixed communities of bacteria. As part of this project, the PIs propose to develop and parameterize such a model.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Note:
When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external
site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a
charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from
this site.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The overarching goal of this project was to develop a clear understanding of the microbial ‘active fraction’ and the constituent metabolic in nitrification/denitrification microbial communities pathways responsible for the transformation of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs).
The widespread occurrence and environmental impacts of microconstituents has received increasing attention in recent years. There is an growing body of evidence that suggests chronic exposure, even at extremely low concentrations could have adverse effects on ecosystems, such as impaired embryo development, modified feeding behavior, suppression of algae growth and reduction in algal respiration rates While some of these effects are reversible, other anatomical, physiological, and genetic alterations are permanent. Thus, the challenge of assessing, understanding, and mitigating the deleterious influence of microconstituents on the environment is one of the great challenges facing the environmental engineering and science community.
The research proposed herein is focused on evaluating the biodegradation of one set of microconstituents (PhACs). Our interest in PhACs is motivated by three factors: (i) the explosion in development and use of these chemicals in recent years; (ii) reports that PhACs may persist in the environment for months to years and (iii) unlike many traditional pollutants and other MCs, PhACs are specifically designed to be bioactive, making their environmental impact particularly concerning. Studies evaluating chronic exposure to PhACs report suppression of algae growth, reduction in algal respiration rates, decreased embryo hatching, reduced growth rate in fish and impacts on endocrine system activity in aquatic species . Environmental toxicology notwithstanding, pharmaceuticals are essential to modern society – to eradicate and control disease and improve the quality and length of human and animal lives.
Intellectual Merit. The influence of anthropogenic chemical mixtures present within the environment at low concentration is one of the great challenges facing scientists and engineers in the 21st century. Effective wastewater treatment is critical to maintaining water quality, but what we traditionally think of as effective may need to also include microconstiutients - compounds that these facilities were never specifically designed to treat. This NSF CBET study developed and employed advanced microbial-ecological techniques to further our understanding of the biological PhAC removal. Such advanced understanding enabled by these tools can be extended to interrogate PhAC metabolism in different activated sludge configurations. Further, the knowledge of the ‘active fraction’ and metabolic pathways can help improve standardized protocols that can be used by future studies to estimate the extant biokinetic parameters and to construct more accurate predictive models for PhAC removal. The ‘active’ fraction of activated sludge bacteria responsible for PhAC removal identified by this study can also provide useful information on what mechanistic approaches can be taken to potentially promote their selective growth in activated sludge processes geared towards PhAC removal, while simultaneously meeting wastewater treatment objectives.
Broader Impacts: Understanding the interplay of microbial processes acting on contaminants of emerging concern is critical to meeting the scientific challenges now facing water quality researchers and professionals. The approach to understanding these processes offered in the proposed research may seed future scientific investigations aimed at understanding biodegradation mechanisms throughout the environment. Beyond these technical broader impacts activities in this project were designed to (1) increase emphasis on emerging areas within the environmental engineering curricula at the partner universities through the development and delivery of content modules by the PIs and their students, and (2) develop and deliver continuing education curricula focused on bridging the gap between research and practice related to pharmaceutical fate within biological treatment systems and how this integrates within approaches to nutrient management.
Significant Results: As part of this project, we developed and employed a novel method to identify bacteria in wastewater treatment plants that can assimilate bisphoenol-A (BPA), a model PhAC. Based on the developed SIP method, the active fraction of BPA assimilation in a microbial community developed from a local wastewater treatment plant in New York City was determined for the first time. Further, this study supported the doctoral and undergraduate studies of two female student researchers.
Last Modified: 01/17/2018
Modified by: Kartik Chandran
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
