Degradation of 17beta-estradiol by a gram-negative bacterium isolated from activated sludge in a sewage treatment plant in Tokyo, Japan.

A 17beta-estradiol (E2)-degrading bacterium was isolated from activated sludge in a sewage treatment plant in Tokyo, Japan. The isolate was suggested to be a new Novosphingobium species. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance analyses of the metabolites of E2 degradation suggested that no toxic products accumulated in the culture medium.