Caracterización de consorcios microbianos mediante metagenómica para la degradación de diclofenaco

Abstract

In recent decades, emerging contaminants, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, have increased alarmingly, representing a growing threat to the ecosystem and human health due to their high acute and chronic toxicity (Montenegro, 2023). The detection and accumulation of drugs such as diclofenac in the environment and water bodies has raised concern, as this drug persists in wastewater and challenges conventional treatment methods due to its high toxicity and low degradation rate (Parra, 2023). Bioremediation emerges as an effective solution, using native microbial communities to degrade these compounds (Can, 2021). Metagenomics, which allows DNA to be explored directly from environmental samples, is a versatile tool to characterize microbial consortia, facilitating the understanding of microbial diversity and their functional abilities to degrade chemical contaminants (Hernández-León et al., 2010). This analysis is carried out by extracting and sequencing DNA from samples, followed by bioinformatic analysis using tools such as Galaxy and KBase, which allow genomic data to be processed and analyzed in an accessible way (Ramírez & Rosalvina, 2023; Correa et al., 2022). In the case of diclofenac, microorganisms such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Alcaligenes aquatilis have been identified, which can use high concentrations of this drug as a carbon source, achieving significant degradation (Mohamed, 2023). This study focuses on the importance of metagenomics for the characterization of microbial consortia in the degradation of diclofenac, proposing a specific protocol for its elimination using both single-domain and multi-domain microbial consortia. The methodology includes the collection of environmental samples, DNA extraction and sequencing, and quality analysis of the extracted DNA, followed by sequencing techniques and bioinformatic analysis. The experimental proposal details the degradation tests, specifying the culture conditions and the microbial consortia to be used. This research contributes to the search for effective solutions for the degradation of emerging contaminants, highlighting the potential of bioremediation and metagenomic analysis in protecting the environment and public health.