Sated by a Zero-Calorie Sweetener: Wastewater Bacteria Can Feed on Acesulfame.

The widely used artificial sweetener acesulfame K has long been considered recalcitrant in biological wastewater treatment. Due to its persistence and mobility in the aquatic environment, acesulfame has been used as marker substance for wastewater input in surface water and groundwater. However, recent studies indicated that the potential to remove this xenobiotic compound is emerging in wastewater treatment plants worldwide, leading to decreasing mass loads in receiving waters despite unchanged human consumption patterns.

Microbial communities along biogeochemical gradients in a hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer.

Micro-organisms are known to degrade a wide range of toxic substances. How the environment shapes microbial communities in polluted ecosystems and thus influences degradation capabilities is not yet fully understood. In this study, we investigated microbial communities in a highly complex environment: the capillary fringe and subjacent sediments in a hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer.