Influence of Sulfonamide Contamination Derived from Veterinary Antibiotics on Plant Growth and Development

Abstract

Veterinary antibiotics such as sulfonamides are widely used to increase feed efficiency and to protect against disease in livestock production. The sulfonamide antimicrobial mechanism involves the blocking of folate biosynthesis by inhibiting bacterial dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) activity competitively. Interestingly, most treatment antibiotics can be released into the environment via manure and result in significant diffuse pollution in the environment. However, the physiological effects of sulfonamide during plant growth and development remain elusive because the plant response is dependent on folate biosynthesis and the concentration of antibiotics. Here, we present a chemical interaction docking model between Napa cabbage (Brassica campestris) DHPS and sulfamethoxazole and sulfamethazine, which are the most abundant sulfonamides detected in the environment. Furthermore, seedling growth inhibition was observed in lentil bean (Lens culinaris), rice (Oryza sativa), and Napa cabbage plants upon sulfonamide exposure. The results revealed that sulfonamide antibiotics target plant DHPS in a module similar to bacterial DHPS and affect early growth and the development of crop seedlings. Taking these results together, we suggest that sulfonamides act as pollutants in crop fields.

Crystal structure of Arabidopsis thaliana HPPK/DHPS, a bifunctional enzyme and target of the herbicide asulam

“…Although studies have investigated the off-target and toxicity effects of asulam, such as its inhibition of mammalian sepiapterin reductase (Yang et al, 2015b), its crosskingdom activity against soil microbiota is less well-studied (European Food Safety Authority et al, 2018). Sulfonamide antibiotics are used in the livestock industry and have been reported to have phytotoxic effects (Liu et al, 2009;Piotrowicz-Cieślak et al, 2010;Cheong et al, 2020). As we demonstrate the herbicidal potency of sulfamethoxazole against A. thaliana, a previous study showed it was herbicidal against duckweed (Lemna gibba) (Brain et al, 2008).…”

2D Molybdenum Sulfide‐Based Materials for Photo‐Excited Antibacterial Application

“…Due to the lack of folic acid, the synthesis of amino acids and nucleotides in the bacteria is blocked, resulting in bacteria being unable to grow and multiply. [244,245] Although some antibiotics have significant bactericidal effects, they are not the best choice for fighting infections due to their hydrophobicity, poor skin permeability, and systemic toxicity. [246] In addition, the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria significantly erodes the enthusiasm concerning antibiotics.…”

Zebrafish as a Screening Model to Study the Single and Joint Effects of Antibiotics

“…Compared with (fluor)quinolones, sulphonamides mainly suppress microorganism growth and multiplication and act as a competitive inhibitor of the bacterial enzyme dihydropteroate synthetase (DPS), an enzyme involved in folate biosynthesis [ 107 ]. Tokanová et al [ 90 ] have showed that the exposure of zebrafish to sulfamethoxazole (50–500 μg/L) for 14 days has no significant impact on the antioxidant enzyme activity (e.g., glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione S-transferase) compared to the control group.…”