The history of colour is fascinating from a social and artistic viewpoint because it shows the way; use; and importance acquired. The use of colours date back to the Stone Age (the first news of cave paintings); colour has contributed to the social and symbolic development of civilizations. Colour has been associated with hierarchy; power and leadership in some of them. The advent of synthetic dyes has revolutionized the colour industry; and due to their low cost; their use has spread to different industrial sectors. Although the percentage of coloured wastewater discharged by the textile; food; pharmaceutical; cosmetic; and paper industries; among other productive areas; are unknown; the toxic effect and ecological implications of this discharged into water bodies are harmful. This review briefly shows the social and artistic history surrounding the discovery and use of natural and synthetic dyes. We summarise the environmental impact caused by the discharge of untreated or poorly treated coloured wastewater to water bodies; which has led to physical; chemical and biological treatments to reduce the colour units so as important physicochemical parameters. We also focus on laccase utility (EC 1.10.3.2), for discolouration enzymatic treatment of coloured wastewater, before its discharge into water bodies. Laccases (p-diphenol: oxidoreductase dioxide) are multicopper oxidoreductase enzymes widely distributed in plants, insects, bacteria, and fungi. Fungal laccases have employed for wastewater colour removal due to their high redox potential. This review includes an analysis of the stability of laccases, the factors that influence production at high scales to achieve discolouration of high volumes of contaminated wastewater, the biotechnological impact of laccases, and the degradation routes that some dyes may follow when using the laccase for colour removal

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) waste generates an environmental impact. To achieve the most suitable option for their degradation, it is necessary to implement chemical, physical and biological treatments, as well as combining procedures. Best treatment was prognosticated by Plackett-Burman Experimental Design (PB), evaluating five factors with two levels (0.25 mM or 1.0 gL^-1 glucose, 1.0 or 2.0 mM CuSO₄, 0.1 or 0.2 mM ABTS [2, 20-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)], pH 4.5 ± 0.2 or 7.0 ± 0.2 and 30 or 90 day incubation), which was reproduced for 150 days. Therefore, PB identified a sequential treatment (plasma followed by fungus) for partial LDPE biodeterioration. Sheets were pretreated with glow discharge plasma (O₂, 3.0 x 10⁻² mbar, 600 V, 6 min.), followed by Pleurotus ostreatus biodeterioration. Fungus growth, colonization percentage, and pigment generation followed. Laccase (Lac), manganese peroxidase (MnP) and lignin peroxidase (LiP) activities were appraised. Additionally, contact angle (CA), functional group presence and changes and carbonyl and vinyl indices (Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy) were evaluated. LDPE surface changes were assessed by Young’s modulus, yield strength, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Plasma discharge increased hydrophilicity, decreasing CA by 76.57% and increasing surface roughness by 99.81%. P. ostreatus colonization was 88.72% in 150 days in comparison with untreated LDPE (45.55%). After this treatment carbonyl groups (C = O), C = C insaturations, high hydrophilicity CA (16 ± 4) °, and low surface roughness (7 ± 2) nm were observed. However, the highest Lac and LiP activities were detected after 30 days (Lac: 2.817 U Lac g^-1 and LiP: 70.755 U LiP g^-1). In addition, highest MnP activity was observed at day 120 (1.097 U MnP g^-1) only for P. ostreatus treated LDPE. Plasma favored P. ostreatus adsorption, adherence, growth and colonization (88.72%), as well as partial LDPE biodeterioration, supported by increased hydrophilicity and presence of specific functional chemical groups. The approximate 27% changes in LDPE physical properties support its biodeterioration.

The first traces of Tetracycline (TE) were detected in human skeletons from Sudan and Egypt, finding that it may be related to the diet of the time, the use of some dyes, and the use of soils loaded with microorganisms, such as Streptomyces spp., among other microorganisms capable of producing antibiotics. However, most people only recognise authors dating between 1904 and 1940, such as Ehrlich, Domagk, and Fleming. Antibiotics are the therapeutic option for countless infections treatment; unfortunately, they are the second most common group of drugs in wastewaters worldwide due to failures in industrial waste treatments (pharmaceutics, hospitals, senior residences) and their irrational use in humans and animals. The main antibiotics problem lies in delivered and non-prescribed human use, use in livestock as growth promoters, and crop cultivation as biocides (regulated activities that have not complied in some places). This practice has led to the toxicity of the environment as antibiotics generate eutrophication, water pollution, nutrient imbalance, and press antibiotic resistance. In addition, the removal of antibiotics is not a required process in global wastewater treatment standards. This review aims to raise awareness of the negative impact of antibiotics as residues and physical, chemical, and biological treatments for their degradation. We discuss the high cost of physical and chemical treatments, the risk of using chemicals that worsen the situation, and the fact that each antibiotic class can be transformed differently with each of these treatments and generate new compounds that could be more toxic than the original ones; also, we discuss the use of enzymes for antibiotic degradation, with emphasis on laccases.

Lacasses are multicopper oxidases that can catalyze aromatic and non-aromatic compounds concomitantly with reduction of molecular oxygen to water. Fungal laccases have generated a growing interest due to their biotechnological potential applications, such as lignocellulosic material delignification, biopulping and biobleaching, wastewater treatment, and transformation of toxic organic pollutants. In this work we selected fungal genes encoding for laccase enzymes GlLCC1 in Ganoderma lucidum and POXA 1B in Pleurotus ostreatus. These genes were optimized for codon use, GC content, and regions generating secondary structures. Laccase proposed computational models, and their interaction with ABTS [2, 2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)] substrate was evaluated by molecular docking. Synthetic genes were cloned under the control of Pichia pastoris glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAP) constitutive promoter. P. pastoris X-33 was transformed with pGAPZαA-LaccGluc-Stop and pGAPZαA-LaccPost-Stop constructs. Optimization reduced GC content by 47 and 49% for LaccGluc-Stop and LaccPost-Stop genes, respectively. A codon adaptation index of 0.84 was obtained for both genes. 3D structure analysis using SuperPose revealed LaccGluc-Stop is similar to the laccase crystallographic structure 1GYC of Trametes versicolor. Interaction analysis of the 3D models validated through ABTS, demonstrated higher substrate affinity for LaccPost-Stop, in agreement with our experimental results with enzymatic activities of 451.08 ± 6.46 UL^-1 compared to activities of 0.13 ± 0.028 UL^-1 for LaccGluc-Stop. This study demonstrated that G. lucidum GlLCC1 and P. ostreatus POXA 1B gene optimization resulted in constitutive gene expression under GAP promoter and α-factor leader in P. pastoris. These are important findings in light of recombinant enzyme expression system utility for environmentally friendly designed expression systems, because of the wide range of substrates that laccases can transform. This contributes to a great gamut of products in diverse settings: industry, clinical and chemical use, and environmental applications.

Increased resistance of Helicobacter pylori to clarithromycin and metronidazole has resulted in recommendation to substitute fluoroquinolones for eradication therapy. The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence and changes in primary levofloxacin resistance related to H. pylori gyrA sequences. The study utilized H. pylori strains isolated from patients undergoing gastroscopy in Bogotá, Colombia from 2009 to 2014. Levofloxacin susceptibility was assessed by agar dilution. Mutations in gyrA sequences affecting the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) were evaluated by direct sequencing. Overall, the mean prevalence of primary levofloxacin resistance was 18.2% (80 of 439 samples). Resistance increased from 11.8% (12/102) in 2009 to 27.3% (21/77) in 2014 (p = 0.001). gyrA mutations in levofloxacin resistant strains were present in QRDR positions 87 and 91. The most common mutation was N87I (43.8%, 35/80) followed by D91N (28.8%, 23/80) and N87K (11.3%, 9/80). Levofloxacin resistance increased markedly in Colombia during the six-year study period. Primary levofloxacin resistance was most often mediated by point mutations in gyrA, with N87I being the most common QRDR mutation related to levofloxacin resistance.