Biotransformation of the Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic, Levofloxacin, by the Free and Immobilized Secretome of .

Antibiotics play a crucial role in human and animal medical healthcare, but widespread use and overuse of antibiotics poses alarming health and environmental issues. Fluoroquinolones constitute a class of antibiotics that has already become ubiquitous in the environment, and their increasing use and high persistence prompt growing concern. Here we investigated a fungal secretome prepared from the white-rot fungus , which is able to effectively degrade the environmentally persistent fluoroquinolone, levofloxacin.

Responses to and detoxification of esculin in white-rot fungi.

Plant metabolites have a great potential for limiting the spread of harmful fungi. However, a better understanding of the mode-of-action of these molecules and the defense systems developed by fungi to resist them, is needed to assess the benefits/risks of using them as antifungal treatment. White-rot fungi are excellent models in this respect, as they have adapted to the hostile habitat that is wood.

Valorizing fungal diversity for the degradation of fluoroquinolones.

Continued widespread use of antibiotics, especially fluoroquinolones, raises environmental concerns, as its driving bacterial resistance and disrupts microbial ecosystems. Here we investigate the biodegradation of ten fluoroquinolone antibiotics (six for medical use and four for veterinary use) by ligninolytic fungi, including , , , , , , , , and . The results show significant variations between strains in the efficiency of antibiotic transformation.