RESUMO
Hexavalent chromium is a highly toxic element generated due to indiscriminate chromite mining in Sukinda, Odisha. In the present research investigation a relatively higher Cr(VI) resistant (900 mg L-1) bacterium CWB-54 was isolated from the chromite mine water. Based on the biochemical and molecular analysis the strain (CWB-54) was identified as Exiguobacterium mexicanum. When this bacterium was grown at 35 °C, 100 rpm, pH~8.0, and fructose as an electron donor, it could reduce the total hexavalent chromium (100 mg L-1) supplemented in the medium within 33 h of incubation period. Though experiment was carried out to study the effect of Mn, Ni, Cd, Hg and Zn on Cr(VI) reduction by the strain E. mexicanum it has been observed that in the presence of Cd and Hg, Cr(VI) reduction drastically decreased. Characterization of Cr(VI) reduced product by SEM-EDX and TEM analysis revealed intracellular and extracellular Cr(III) deposition in the bacterium, which is assumed to be Cr(OH)3 precipitate in nanometric size. But the extracellular chromate reductase enzyme production is found to be negligible as compared to the intracellular enzyme production. The increased concentration of Cr(VI) above (1000 mg L-1) also showed the genotoxic effect on the DNA. Several reports have been published on Exiguobacterium sp. on different scientific aspect but the current report on the reduction of toxic Cr(VI) by a new species E. mexicanum is a novel one which established the potentiality of this microorganism for a broad area of application.
Assuntos
Exiguobacterium , Solo , Biodegradação Ambiental , Cromo , OxirreduçãoRESUMO
Old Yellow Enzymes play key roles in several cellular processes and have become an important family of enzymes with biotechnological potential. One of the major challenges of biotechnology consists of the bioremediation of co-polluted soils with organic and inorganic compounds. In co-contaminated areas, chromium normally exists in its more toxic and carcinogenic form Cr(VI). Microorganisms can reduce this metal to the insoluble and less toxic Cr(III). Streptomyces sp. M7 is a strain able to efficiently bioremediate polluted soils with γ-hexachlorocyclohexane and Cr(VI). The complete degradation pathway for γ-hexachlorocyclohexane was recently elucidated in this strain. In the present work, we confirmed the ability of Streptomyces sp. M7 to eliminate a high percentage of Cr(VI) from a synthetic culture medium. After a transcriptional study in the presence of Cr(VI), we also report the molecular cloning of a gene coding for an Old Yellow Enzyme with chromate reductase activity. Our results suggest that the elimination of Cr(VI) by Streptomyces sp. M7 is directly related to the activity of this Old Yellow Enzyme. The importance of our work is in identifying for the first time an Old Yellow Enzyme with chromate reductase activity in Streptomyces and Actinobacteria. Finding this enzyme helps understand chromium homeostasis in Streptomyces sp. M7, in addition to opening a new research window related to Old Yellow Enzymes from Actinobacteria.
Assuntos
Biodegradação Ambiental , Cromo/metabolismo , Meios de Cultura/química , NADPH Desidrogenase/metabolismo , Streptomyces/enzimologia , Redes e Vias Metabólicas , NADPH Desidrogenase/genética , Oxirredução , Oxirredutases/metabolismo , Microbiologia do Solo , Streptomyces/genéticaRESUMO
An Gram negative strain of S. maltophilia, indigenous to environments contaminated by Cr(VI) and identified by biochemical methods and 16S rRNA gene analysis, reduced chromate by 100%, 98-99% and 92% at concentrations in the 10-70, 80-300, and 500 mg/L range, respectively at pH 7 and temperature 37 °C. Increasing concentrations of Cr(VI) in the medium lowered the growth rate but could not be directly correlated with the amount of Cr(VI) reduced. The strain also exhibited multiple resistance to antibiotics and tolerance and resistance to various heavy metals (Ni, Zn and Cu), with the exception of Hg. Hexavalent chromium reduction was mainly associated with the soluble fraction of the cell evaluated with crude cell-free extracts. A protein of molecular weight around 25 kDa was detected on SDS-PAGE gel depending on the concentration of hexavalent chromium in the medium (0, 100 and 500 mg/L). In silico analysis in this contribution, revealed the presence of the chromate reductase gene ChrR in S. maltophilia, evidenced through a fragment of around 468 bp obtained experimentally. High Cr(VI) concentration resistance and high Cr(VI) reducing ability of the strain make it a suitable candidate for bioremediation.