Degradation of 17β-Estradiol by a Gram-Negative Bacterium Isolated from Activated Sludge in a Sewage Treatment Plant in Tokyo, Japan

A 17β-estradiol (E2)-degrading bacterium was isolated from activated sludge in a sewage treatment plant in Tokyo, Japan. The isolate was suggested to be a new Novosphingobium species. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance analyses of the metabolites of E2 degradation suggested that no toxic products accumulated in the culture medium.