Satt werden ohne Kalorien — Bakterien in Kläranlagen fressen Acesulfam

Abstract The artificial sweetener acesulfame has been used since 1990 and was long considered recalcitrant to biodegradation. In recent years, acesulfame removal has been observed in wastewater treatment plants and acesulfame-degrading bacterial strains have been isolated. Comparative genomics revealed the degradation pathway encoded in two gene clusters on conjugative plasmids. Gene signatures of the key enzymes in the SRA database indicate that the pathway emerged in wastewater systems around 2013.