What are the differences between aerobic and anaerobic toxic effects of sulfonamides on Escherichia coli?

In this study, we determined the aerobic and anaerobic toxicities of sulfonamides (SAs) on E. coli. Next, a comparison of the aerobic and anaerobic toxicities indicated that the SAs could be divided into three groups: Group I: log(1/EC50-anaerobic) > log(1/EC50-aerobic) (EC50-anaerobic/ EC50-aerobic, the median effective concentration under anaerobic/aerobic conditions), Group II: log(1/EC50-anaerobic) ≈ log(1/EC50-aerobic), and Group III: log(1/EC50-anaerobic) < log(1/EC50-aerobic). Furthermore, this division was not based on the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level or the interaction energy (Ebinding) value, which represents the affinity between SAs and dihydropteroate synthase (dhps) but rather on the total binding energy. Furthermore, SAs with greatly similar structures were categorized into different groups. This deep insight into the difference between aerobic and anaerobic toxicities will benefit environmental science, and the results of this study will serve as a reference for the risk assessment of chemicals in the environment. Graphical abstract
Source: Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research