The emerging pollutant paracetamol (APAP) is one of the most prescribed drugs worldwide. In addition, APAP and its main metabolites, namely, 4-aminophenol (4-AP), hydroquinone (H2Q), benzoquinone (BQ), and 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (2,5-OH-BQ), among others, are frequently detected in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) influents, effluents, and the environment. Thus, continuous release into the environment, especially aquatic environments, is a source of general concern. Six APAP-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from two mine samples from the Iberian Pyrite Belt (Lousal and Poderosa mines). Mycolicibacterium aubagnense HPB1.1, which was isolated using enrichment cultures from the Poderosa mine sample in the presence of H2Q as the sole carbon source, also showed APAP biodegrading capabilities. Pure cultures of this strain degraded 34.3 mg L⁻¹ of APAP in 5 days and 9.4 mg L⁻¹ of H2Q in 4 days. Interestingly, BQ and 2,5-OH-BQ were detected as metabolites resulting from H2Q abiotic degradation, but these compounds were removed in the strain’s cultures. Furthermore, M. aubagnense HPB1.1 whole-genome was sequenced, and its encoded proteins were aligned with enzymes of APAP-degrading bacteria recovered from databases and literature aiming to identify candidate catabolic genes. Putative amidases, deaminases, hydroxylases, and dioxygenases, responsible for the degradation of APAP by the HPB1.1 strain, were identified by similarity, corroborating its ability to transform APAP and its intermediate metabolite H2Q into less toxic metabolic compounds due to their capacity to break the aromatic ring of these molecules.

新兴污染物扑热息痛 (APAP) 是全世界处方最多的药物之一。此外，APAP及其主要代谢物，即4-氨基苯酚(4-AP)、对苯二酚(H2Q)、苯醌(BQ)和2,5-二羟基-1,4-苯醌(2,5-OH-BQ) ）等，经常在废水处理厂 (WWTP) 的进水、出水和环境中检测到。因此，持续释放到环境中，特别是水生环境中，是人们普遍关注的问题。从伊比利亚黄铁矿带（Lousal 和 Poderosa 矿）的两个矿样中分离出六种 APAP 降解细菌菌株。 Mycolicibacter aubagnense HPB1.1 是在 H2Q 作为唯一碳源的情况下使用富集培养物从 Poderosa 矿样品中分离出来的，也显示出 APAP 生物降解能力。该菌株的纯培养物在 5 天内降解了 34.3 mg L ^-1的 APAP，在 4 天内降解了 9.4 mg L ^-1的 H2Q。有趣的是，BQ 和 2,5-OH-BQ 被检测为 H2Q 非生物降解产生的代谢物，但这些化合物在菌株培养物中被去除。此外，对M. aubagnense HPB1.1 全基因组进行了测序，并将其编码的蛋白质与从数据库和文献中恢复的 APAP 降解细菌的酶进行比对，旨在识别候选分解代谢基因。通过相似性鉴定了 HPB1.1 菌株负责降解 APAP 的假定酰胺酶、脱氨酶、羟化酶和双加氧酶，证实了其将 APAP 及其中间代谢物 H2Q 转化为毒性较小的代谢化合物的能力，因为它们具有分解能力。这些分子的芳香环。